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ELKE handler |
| | BLueLightS | 174000 | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | EnLIGHTening future Schools to deliver BLUE Sustainability in Europe | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2024-01-01 | 2027-07-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | | The project aims at strengthening blue education in Europe to set the right conditions for the cost-effective implementation of the next Mission upscaling phase. BlueLightS will work on four axes that are central to the project's legacy by: (1) significantly increasing the number of blue challenges implemented in schools as well as the number of accredited blue schools joining the european Blue school network; (2) in coherence with the inclusiveness principles of the EU Green Deal, contributing to the diversification of blue schools, including schools from inland territories, vocational schools, schools for children and youth with disabilities...; (3) contributing to enhancing the quality and ambition of blue education projects by applying open schooling and citizenship education principles that are key to (future) citizens' engagement into blue sustainability; (4) bringing the blue education concept and vision into the (national) education system of EU Member States, mobilising education stakeholders into the co-design and experimentation of a blue education framework, as well as the development of road maps for strengthening blue education . To deliver its ambitions, BlueLightS builds on: the development and facilitation of an active blue education community of practice; the application of a strong participatory philosophy; the establishment of synergies with both Mission Ocean and EU4Ocean coalition/Network of Blue Schools processes; the integration of the blue education concept into the activities, events and communication of "others" at different scales; the development of well targeted comunication, dissemination and exploitation activities; the priority given to activities implemented in 9 "experimentation" countries (including Greece) representing diverse blue education maturity levels, complemented by the sharing of experiences at the lighthouse scale and support to blue schools in all EU countries. | Active |
| | ONE-BLUE | 300001 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Integrated approach to assess the levels and impact of cONontaminants of Emerging concern on BLUE health and biodiversity modulated by climate change drivers | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2024-01-01 | 2027-06-30 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | Nektarios Politakis | https://one-blue.eu/ | ONE-BLUE's central aim is to fill gaps in knowledge about the presence, impacts, and risks of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) on different marine ecosystems and on marine biodiversity in a changing environment modulated by climate change (CC). It brings together 18 Institutions, 20 Research groups from 11 European countries and more than 100 researchers from different fields. ONE-BLUE will address the challenges by demonstrating an innovative effect-based monitoring system together with an integral assessment of the levels, fate, behavior, distribution, bioaccumulation, impacts, including biodiversity risks of CECs on the different marine ecosystems (surface waters, the water column and the sea floor). A battery of effect-based environmental monitoring, (using mechanism-specific in-vitro bioreporter assays, reactive toxicity, transgenerational effects (FET assay), developmental toxicity and genotoxicity conducted in an iceberg approach), will yield information about the presence of novel/unknown CECs in the studied samples. New approach methodologies (NAMs) in effect-based screening will be optimized for the marine environment. Moreover, toxicity tests with marine organisms aligned with OECD guidelines will be used and biophysical and biochemical ecotoxicity indexes for selected CECs will be established and studied with the simulation of some climate change stressors such as temperature, salinity and acidification. The information at the case study sites (i.e. Mediterranean Sea, Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean) will be completed with studies under controlled conditions in marine mesocosms to provide an advanced understanding of possible interactions between climate change drivers (e.g., increased temperatures, salinity and pH) and the levels of CECs. | Active |
| | VALIAS | 322000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Valorization of Marine Invasive Alien Species a Pathway Towards the Protection of European Marine Biodiversity: From Destructive Invaders to a Source of Wealth | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2024-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity | Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Kriton Grigorakis, Morgane Henry, Dimitra Kogianou, Antigoni Vasilaki | | VALIAS aims to match the need for managing the marine Invasive Alien Species (IAS) populations with the growing demand for marine derived-products. Under the frame of circular economy, the valorization of unexploited IAS can represent a sustainable strategy for the realization of a circular bio-economy, with the production of stable and safe food, fish feed and cosmetic ingredients. Various compounds with high commercial value obtained from IAS byproducts, including collagen, enzymes, bioactive peptides, minerals and functional fatty acids will be valorized in VALIAS. In this way, we may turn the current problem represented by marine IAS into a "Win-Win" solution both for the European fisheries and for the companies active in the sector of aquaculture, nutrition and cosmetology. Specifically, VALIAS will contribute to the limitation of IAS stocks and of their negative ecological and economic impact on marine life, fisheries, human welfare, and health in European seas.
The Principal Investigator from HCMR is Dr Paraskevi Karahle from IMBRIW, while Dr I. Negas is the Scientific Responsible for the work done in IMBBC | Active |
| | BlueMinds4Teachers | 40000 | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | BlueMinds4Teachers: Fostering Ocean Literacy in Education for Sustainable Development | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2023-11-01 | 2024-09-30 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | https://maritime-forum.ec.europa.eu/contents/winners-call-collective-action-challenge-year_en | The project aims to strengthen the skills of EU (and non-EU) teachers and other marine educators in Ocean Literacy through collaboration with marine researchers, education and social scientists, the EU Blue Schools Network and the Youth4Ocean Ambassadors. The objectives of the project are: a) to bring the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach of marine -including freshwater- science issues to Primary and Secondary Education teachers (including pre-service teachers, university students) to improve their ability to address Ocean Literacy issues and integrate them into the school curriculum towards Education for Sustainability; b) to create a permanent working group in which marine, freshwater, educational and social scientists, teachers and young ocean ambassadors can interact fruitfully and continuously to build stronger and long-lasting educational communities as well as quality, modern and innovative educational material and tools; c) to contribute to bridging skills and knowledge gaps by integrating pedagogical and scientific education, to improve social learning and critical thinking as well as scientific inquiry; d) to design an interactive online training course that can be reproducible, exportable, and adaptable to local/national needs in European countries to improve teachers' skills in promoting Ocean Literacy at school.
| Active |
| | DTO-Bioflow | 200000 | Ioulia Santi | Ioulia Santi | Integration of biodiversity monitoring data into the Digital Twin Ocean | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2023-01-01 | 2027-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Evangelos Pafilis, Dimitra Mavraki, Antonis Potirakis, Stelios Ninidakis | | DTO-BioFlow will expand the sustainable flow of ocean biodiversity relevant datasets (on species, their habitats, their ecological interactions, and associated human activities impacts), by awakening “sleeping” biodiversity data, identifying new sources of data and enabling their sustainable integration into the EU DTO. To fully exploit the potential of these new and existing data flows, the project will develop the biological component, i.e., the digital version of marine ecological processes, bringing together data, models and new algorithms into the DTO supporting the development of policy-relevant tools and services for the monitoring and sustainable management of marine biodiversity and delivering to the objectives of the EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” (Mission Ocean) in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030.
The proposed work aims to:
• Increase the flow of relevant biodiversity data by assessing opportunities and unlocking current barriers to assimilation and ingestion
• Develop the biodiversity digital component of the EU Digital Twin Ocean (DTO)
• Integrate biodiversity monitoring data into the architecture of the EU Digital Twin Ocean and ensure sustainable data flow after project-end
• Demonstrate the end-to-end approach for biodiversity monitoring based on the digital environment provided by EU DTO & data sources
• Establish mechanisms to monitor, measure progress and drive community action towards increasing biodiversity data flows into EU DTO by 2030.
| Active |
| | IMAGINE | 130000 | Niki Keklikoglou | Niki Keklikoglou | Next generation imaging technologies to probe structure and function of biological specimen across scales in their natural context | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2023-05-01 | 2028-04-30 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Georgios Kotoulas, Katerina Vasiliadou | https://www.embl.org/about/info/imagine/ | The IMAGINE project will develop the next generation of scale-crossing imaging technologies to enable an integrated investigation of structure and function of biological systems. IMAGINE will prepare its new imaging technologies to be deployed in the field, on Europe’s seas and coastlines, so that the collection of environmental specimen in their natural context can be coupled with their study by highest resolution imaging technologies. | Active |
| | AgroServ | 52000 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | Integrated services supporting a sustainable agroecological transition | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-09-01 | 2027-08-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology | | | The program aims to provide services and Transnational Access to interested scientists/groups/companies for the use of infrastructure and equipment related to agriculture research, including aquaculture and the exploitation of marine biological resources. EMBRC-ERIC participates in this program as a Strategic Partner, as it represents a pan-European network/platform for access to infrastructure/equipment related to marine biological research and marine ecosystems research. In this context, IMBBC participates in the AgroServ program as an affiliated member of EMBRC-ERIC and will offer access to the infrastructure/equipment of the IMBBC Bioanalysis and Biotechnology Laboratory. More specifically, the potential users/visitors of IMBBC-HCMR through the AgroServ program, will receive services regarding the processing and analysis of their environmental/biological samples with regard to specific chemical compounds/substances or bioactivities. | Active |
| | BGE | 147503 | Tereza Manousaki | Tereza Manousaki | Biodiversity Genomics Europe | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-09-01 | 2026-02-28 | | Population genetics and phylogeography | Thanos Dailianis | https://biodiversitygenomics.eu/ | The overriding aim of Biodiversity Genomics Europe (BGE) is to accelerate the use of genomic science to enhance understanding of biodiversity, monitor biodiversity change, and guide interventions to address its decline. To deliver this, BGE brings together two newly-formed networks: iBOL Europe, which focuses on DNA barcoding, and the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA), which focuses on genome sequencing | Active |
| | BioRISK | 120000 | Panagiota Kotsakiozi | Panagiota Kotsakiozi | Facing the Biodiversity Crisis: Investigating Extinction Risk of Gastropods under a Genomic Perspective (BioRisk) | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2022-09-23 | 2024-09-23 | | Functional and Comparative genomics, Ecology and ecosystem management, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Elena Sarropoulou | | The extinction of species is the most alarming consequence of global biodiversity crisis, an issue that affects our economy and well-being. Despite the efforts to preserve biodiversity, invertebrates, are seriously underrepresented in global conservation efforts and research. This project will disentangle the mechanisms of extinction risk in gastropods by combining genomic data with comparative extinction risk modelling. Using Whole Genome Sequencing, we will search for genomic traits that may be related with the vulnerability to extinction. We will also estimate extinction risk for gastropod species in Europe taking phylogenetic and functional diversity into account. We will also investigate the co-occurrence of threatening anthropogenic processes and the distribution of species to identify hotspots of impacted and coolspots of unimpacted diversity. Last, we will use this information to define a spatial plan for widening the protected areas in Europe. Gastropods are important for ecosystems and human societies; they can serve as a model group for identifying conservation areas for invertebrates and are considered as ideal case studies to extend the currently identified Key Biodiversity Areas. At the same time, they consist taxa with high number of threatened species and the highest levels of endemism in Europe. The results of the project are important for the EU 2030 Biodiversity strategy that underlines the need for specific focus on areas of high biodiversity value and for expansion of the current protected areas. The conservation of biodiversity has also socio-economic impacts, thus unravelling the factors that make some species more prone to extinction than others, is a research area of primary interest in Europe.
The project will be implemented in the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC) and the Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters (IMBRIW). | Active |
| | BlueRemediomics | 17187 | Ioulia Santi | Ioulia Santi | 17187.5 | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-12-01 | 2026-11-30 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | | | BlueRemediomics will:
(1) develop and provide an integrated bioinformatics platform to explore the marine microbiome potential;
(2) establish innovative culturomics and high-throughput screening platforms to experimentally exploit consortia of marine microbes;
(3) apply the platforms to identify and develop natural products derived from marine microbes;
(4) foster aquaculture and ecosystem services that embody the “do no significant harm” principle;
(5) maximise equitable access to ocean microbiome resources and increase awareness of the marine microbiome to a diverse range of stakeholders;
(6) Provide training, tools and resources to a variety of stakeholders. To achieve these objectives, BlueRemediomics interlinks an advanced “Discovery Platform” with “Applications”, so designed to facilitate cyclical and iterative crosstalk. By federating multiple, currently fragmented key data resources, the Discovery Platform will accelerate new product identification and development, reduce resource dependence, raise consumer benefits and address key societal issues. New modalities in access and benefit sharing will be established that balance sustainable and equitable use of marine genetic resources with intellectual property protection. | Active |
| | CCMRI | 200000 | Evangelos Pafilis | Evangelos Pafilis | Climate Change Metagenomic Record Index (CCMRI): a dynamic researcher-notification and sample classification system | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2022-01-01 | 2025-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | | | Climate Change (CC) is reshaping all ecosystem processes and structures. Its research has traditionally focused on abiotic factors. Microorganisms, major participants of biogeochemical cycles, both affect and are affected by CC. Thus, their analysis is important too. Metagenomic studies can describe a sample’s microbial community composition and sum its biochemical potential. Global resources offer access to public metagenomic records. However, given the environmental genomics data deluge, locating the CC-related ones is a tedious process. CCMRI aims to harvest the metagenomic records pertaining to CC and offer researchers with a web-based notification service when relevant records become available. Web retrieval and text-mining will be combined to detect CC evidence in the metadata and the literature of metagenomic records. Pertinent text will be scanned for mentions of CC descriptive keywords. Previous team experience on Named Entity Recognition will be employed to outperform conventional keyword based searches. A high-level set of metagenomic record Classes-of-Interest (CoI) will be defined reflecting broad topics of CC relatedness (e.g. biogeochemical processes or types of anthropogenic impact). CoIs will help both user navigation and also serve as a hypothesis generation mechanism basis. Taxonomic and functional profiles for each CoI will be computed. CCMRI will allow users to match their samples against those of each CoI. Significant similarities can then offer clues as to a sample’s source or other phenomena occurring within. Collaboration with molecular ecologists will drive easy and user-friendly web software development. Also, IMBBC samples from the Amvrakikos Gulf lagoons will be analysed. Sample proximity to fresh or to marine water inputs and links to nearby agri-aquaculture activities, will be explored. CCMRI closes the gap between climate change research and microbial ecology. Its News Tracker and Sample Matcher applications can be of immediate use to microbiologists, ecologists, climatologists. Epidemiologists, environmental/health organisations and policymakers can benefit too by timely notifications. | Active |
| | Cure4Aqua | 827388 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Curing EU aquaculture by cocreating health and welfare innovations | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-11-01 | 2027-04-30 | | Reproduction and physiology, Production technologies, Fish health, Aquaculture Genetics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Constantinos Mylonas, Ioannis Fakriadis, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Constantina Kokkari, Nikos Papandroulakis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Manolis Mandalakis, George Rigos | | Cure4Aqua aims to jointly improve the resilience of EU aquaculture under environmental, biological, and socio-economic stress, by improving aquatic animal health and welfare and supporting the environmentally friendly, inclusive, safe, and healthy production of seafood. Cure4Aqua will do so by 1) developing cost-effective vaccines to prevent disease caused by 5 pathogens of economic significance to EU aquaculture; 2) Identifying markers with diagnostic capacity to be integrated to selective breeding programs to improve stress and disease management; 3) Developing innovative, bio-based and sustainable solutions as an alternative to antibiotics for controlling fish pathogens at various life stages and alleviate the pressure of global antimicrobial resistance; 4) Developing new tools and technology to improve health and welfare monitoring at the fish farm level and diagnostics of fish pathogens both at the laboratory and the fish farm levels; 5) Placing fish welfare at the foreground of aquaculture production, through the development of high welfare standards that consider different life-stages, production systems, and knowledge of welfare needs, and 6) Ensuring effective external communication, dissemination and exploitation of project activities and results to all relevant target groups | Active |
| | DIRCA | 20000 | Frédéric Verret | Frédéric Verret | Exploring diatom resting stages in Calabrian marine waters: biological diversity, chemical cues and biotechnological potential | Others | Research center and advanced marine infrastructures in Calabria (CRIMAC) | Research center and advanced marine infrastructures in Calabria (CRIMAC) | 2022-01-01 | 2024-12-31 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Georgios Kotoulas, Anastasia Gioti | | Diatoms are very diverse unicellular microalgae that play a fundamental role in the functioning of global ecosystems; they also have a great potential for biotechnological applications. Diatoms have complex life cycles with distinct stages and phases; this has important implications for e.g., the dynamics and genetic structure of their populations. These microalgae can produce secondary metabolites that mediate specific life cycle transitions. In this project we focus on diatom resting stages bringing together scientists with different expertise in a multi-disciplinary project that aims at i) training young researchers in a forefront field of research, ii) establishing a collaborative network that includes colleagues from the University of Calabria. The scientific objectives of this project are developed within the following 4 work packages: WP1) assess the diversity of diatoms producing resting stages along the Calabria coast, WP2) investigate the factors that trigger the formation of these stages; WP3) identify the secondary metabolites involved in the formation of resting stages, WP4) identify transcripts involved in pathways of secondary metabolites and test possible epigenetic mechanisms involved in the transition from vegetative cells to resting stages. This project brings together ‘basic research’, with important ecological implications, with biotechnological exploitation of diatoms, since the secondary metabolites identified can be further tested for bioactivity of possible interest for pharmaceutical application. | Active |
| | FAIR-EASE | 102875 | Antonis Potirakis | Antonis Potirakis | FAIR EArth Sciences & Environment services | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2022-09-01 | 2025-08-31 | | Marine biodiversity | Stelios Ninidakis, Georgios Kotoulas, Evangelos Pafilis, Haris Zafeiropoulos, Savvas Paragkamian, Christina Pavloudi | | Earth and environmental sciences require a large panel and volume of data from satellite, in-situ observations, models, omics experiments... Earth system domains are interconnected and even if interfaces between domains appear of primary importance for several studies with large societal impacts, such as climate change, agriculture and food, human safety and health, the present digital architecture is based essentially on distributed and domain-dependent data repositories inducing real difficulties for integrated uses of all the environmental data.
To go beyond this state-of-the-art, the overall objective of FAIR-EASE is to customize and operate distributed and integrated services for observation and modelling of the Earth system, environment and biodiversity by improving the TRL of their different components implemented in close cooperation with user-communities, the European Open Science Cloud and research infrastructures in their design and sustainable availability.
The project will:
(1) Improve a FAIR-EASE data discovery and data access service, relying on pre-operational existing services, in order to provide users with an easy and FAIR tool for discovery and access to environmental multidisciplinary and aggregated data-sets as managed and provided by a range of European data infrastructures;
(2) Set up a FAIR-EASE Earth Analytical Lab, with EOSC connectivity supporting, through web-based interfaces, predefined processing tools and on-demand data visualization services for remote analysis and processing of heterogeneous data facilitating the cross-disciplinary collaboration, reducing the time to results and increasing productivity; and
(3) Develop a number of multidisciplinary Use Cases (UCs) to contribute requirements for the FAIREASE system components and to validate and demonstrate the capabilities of the FAIR-EASE service for supporting open science. | Active |
| | MACCIMO | 167891 | Thanos Dailianis | Thanos Dailianis | Multi-level Approaches to assess Climate Change Impact to Marine Organisms | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2022-01-01 | 2025-12-31 | | | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Elisavet Kaitetzidou, Anastasia Gioti, Niki Keklikoglou, Nikos Papandroulakis, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Irene Filiopoulou | https://maccimo.hcmr.gr/ | MACCIMO project aims to assess the effect of climate change on sessile marine invertebrates, the organisms mostly affected by environmental pressures due to their reduced motility. The proposed approach involves experimental exposure of the targeted organisms to combined temperature and low pH gradients, in order to realistically simulate the synergistic impact of naturally occurring stressors. The overall objectives of the proposed research project are: (a) to pursue an integrative approach for the estimation of climate change impact on different marine invertebrate taxa with partial or low motility; (b) to examine the different mechanisms –molecular and physiological– activated to cope with the imposed stress factors, as well as to investigate the imposed alterations in structural morphology and associated microsymbiotic communities, and (c) to report intra-species variation in response to thermal and oxidative challenges, indicating diverse adaptation of geographically distinct populations. | Active |
| | MAPWORMS | 297500 | Niki Keklikoglou | Niki Keklikoglou | Mimicking Adaptation and Plasticity in WORMS | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-01-01 | 2026-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Dimitra Mavraki | https://www.mapworms.eu/ | MAPWORMS aims at challenging this traditional concept by proposing robots inspired by simplified forms of Marine Annelida, able to perform tasks in response to environmental stimuli and to adapt to the environment with a shape-morphing strategy.
MAPWORMS intends to: 1) study adaptation and plasticity of the body plan in Marine Annelida and shed light on the specialization process that allowed forms appeared early in the evolution of the Phylum to adapt to different environments; 2) develop a mathematical model of Annelida plasticity and adaptation to the environment through burrowing, protrusion of parts of their bodies, and morphological changes; 3) develop smart soft
materials embodying responsivity, shape morphing and self-healing capabilities, and based on DNA components; 4) develop bioinspired modular shape morphing robots across the scale | Active |
| | MARBEFES | 650250 | Panagiotis Kasapidis | Panagiotis Kasapidis | MARine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning leading to Ecosystem Services | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | 2022-10-01 | 2026-07-18 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Thanos Dailianis, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Grigorios Skouradakis, Dimitra Mavraki, Vasilis Gerovasileiou | | MARBEFES aims to evaluate and characterise the links between marine biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services and the resulting societal goods and benefits in coastal and marine ecosystems. The results will be captured in easy-to-use innovative tools to help practitioners and policy to maximise the ecological value and optimise a sustainable socio-economic use of the marine system for current and future generations. | Active |
| | PlastOmics | 55824 | Anastasia Gioti | Anastasia Gioti | PlastOmics: Discovery of novel enzymes for the bioconversion of plastics using multi-omics | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2022-01-01 | 2025-12-31 | | Functional and Comparative genomics, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | | https://www.chemeng.ntua.gr/plastomics/index.html | PlastOmics is a collaborative project between the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), P.I. of the project, and IMBBC, where genomics, bioinfomatics and training activities of the project take place. The project aims to tackle the challenge of discovering novel enzymes urgently needed for bioremediation and upcycling. These enzymes are expected to serve as efficient bioconversion tools for physico-chemical processing of polymer materials, representing a considerable threat to the biosphere. Human-designed polymers allowed indeed great advances in modern societies, but their long-term use in the face of growing demands for bioconvertible products is not guaranteed.
Fungi have developed enzymatic strategies for decomposing biopolymers such as lignocellulose, and thus isolates deriving from environments polluted with synthetic polymers may have evolved their enzymatic toolbox for this bioconversion. Noting the analogy of challenges (crystallinity, polymeric nature and insolubility) intrinsic to both lignocellulosics and plastics, our ambition is to identify fungi, and enzymes thereof, that can convert synthetic polymers widely used today, such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polystyrene.
In PlastOmics, we will screen a collection of uncharacterized fungi isolated from contaminated regions for their capacity to bioconvert said polymers. The most competent isolates will be characterized with bioinformatic analyses of multi-omic data (genomes, secretomes, etc) to unravel polymer degradation pathways and corresponding genes. These genes will be subsequently expressed in heterologous hosts and characterized both biochemically and structurally. PlastOmics will expand the set of available biocatalysts and create bridges with the field of polymers, while serving as a benchmark for future plastic degradation studies.
Moreover, the project outcomes will enrich current knowledge on structural determinants of bioconversion enzymes, and thus suggest protein engineering approaches for development of a new generation of biocatalysts with improved activity and stability on plastics. PlastOmics aspires to resorb the time gap at the origin of the current enzyme-substrate landscape mismatch, drawing inspiration from natural recycling processes.
| Active |
| | THIRA | 80000 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Monitoring of the underwater volcano Koloumbos using the E/S Filia and a repmotely operated vehicle (ROV) | Others | Thira Municipality | Thira Municipality | 2022-11-21 | 2024-12-20 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Manolis Mandalakis, Stelios Darivianakis, Vasiliki Papadimitriou | | Shallow submarine volcanoes have complex geology and research into their hydrothermal systems is still at an early stage. These shallow submarine, high-energy, dynamic, hydrothermal systems are associated with significant and potentially hazardous volcanic activity. The Kolumbo volcano is the most active submarine volcano of the Mediterranean Sea. Thira is a collaborative project among the Municipality of Thira, the Hellenic Center for Marine Research (ELKETHE) and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), which aims to monitor the underwater Kolumbo volcano using the R/V Philia and the Remote Operated Vehicle owned by HCMR. | Active |
| | XRISI | 100000 | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Implementation of measures of the Chryssi Island Action Plan | Others | Region of Crete | Region of Crete | 2022-11-21 | 2023-09-16 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Thanos Dailianis, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Niki Keklikoglou, Grigorios Skouradakis, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic | | The objectives of the project are:
- Mapping of the different habitats of the study area
- Description of seagrass, hard and soft substrates benthic communities
- Mapping of anthropogenic activities
- Measures for the protection, conservation and sustainable development
| Completed |
| | AquaLegumes | 273685 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Improving the nutritional value of endemic species of fodder legumes, through modern biotechnological processes in the diet of Mediterranean aquaculture species | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2021-03-19 | 2023-09-18 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Fish quality and safety | Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Morgane Henry, Kriton Grigorakis | | Ensuring food adequacy globally remains one of the biggest challenges and aquaculture will be contributing to food security. Greece has the ideal environmental for Aquaculture, a production activity that today is an important sector of livestock production. The expansion of aquaculture production requires the growth of aquafeed production. The challenge of the industry is to identify sustainable alternatives to fishmeal on which present aquafeeds are largely based. The utilization of plant feedstuffs is an essential requirement for future development of aquaculture. Promising candidate plant ingredients are the forage legumes. Legume proteins are of high quantity and have a balanced amino acid profile. The use of locally available legumes, could directly contribute to the sustainability of fish farming in Greece. Furthermore, such cultivation could help unexploited areas of Greece to develop through agricultural production. Legumes contain, however, several endogenous antinutritional factors and Biotechnology can play a significant role in improving the nutritional value of legumes by using modern processes. These include fermentation and use of exogenous enzymes to enhance feed utilization. The exploitation of organisms during fermentation processes represents the first pillar of the proposed research and it is an innovative approach towards the improvement of legumes. The second pillar focuses on the exploitation of biotechnological methods, such as the use of exogenous enzymes that will be modified and optimised for the nutritional upgrade of legumes as feed ingredients in European sea bass rations. The overall objective of this work is to exploit, optimize and test modern biotechnological methods to improve the nutritional quality of forage legumes, cultured in Greece, as components in diets for sea bass. | Completed |
| | AtlantECO | 14091 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | Atlantic ECOsystems assessment, forecasting & sustainability | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2021-06-01 | 2024-08-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Melanthia (Melina) Stavroulaki, Antonios Magoulas, Panagiotis Kasapidis | https://www.atlanteco.eu/ | The EU-funded AtlantECO project aims to develop and apply a novel, unifying framework that provides knowledge-based resources for a better understanding and management of the Atlantic Ocean and its ecosystem services. AtlantECO engages with citizens and actors from the industry and policy sectors in order to stimulate responsible behaviour and Blue Growth.
The project focuses on three pillars of research: microbiomes, plastic and the plastisphere, and seascape connectivity. In pursuit of this goal, AtlantECO is bringing together experts and pioneers from Europe, South America and South Africa with the relevant resources, knowledge and experience. The role of IMBBC is the transfer of OSD know-how for the activation of the existing OSD stations which he has been coordinating since 2018, and the establishment of new ones, leveraging the contacts of all AtlantECO partners. IMBBC offers coordination and logistics advices in a way to strengthen and assure the long-term sustainability of the OSD network, which runs under EMBRC. | Active |
| | EMODnet Biology 4 | 50646 | Dimitra Mavraki | Dimitra Mavraki | European Marine Observation and Data Network, Biology, Phase IV | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2021-04-20 | 2023-04-20 | | Marine biodiversity | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Georgia Sarafidou, Savvas Paragkamian | https://www.emodnet-biology.eu/ | Marine biodiversity data are essential to measure and study the ecosystem health of maritime basins. These data are often collected with limited spatial and temporal scope and are scattered over different organizations in small datasets for a specific species group or habitat. Therefore there is a continuous need to assemble these individual datasets, and process them into interoperable biological data products for assessing the environmental state of overall ecosystems and complete sea basins. The Maritime Policy Blue Book, welcomed by the European Council in 2007, announced that the European Commission would take steps to set up a European Marine Observation and Data Network to improve access to high quality marine data for private bodies, public authorities and researchers. In this framework, Phase IV follows on and continues to expand on the work developed previously. The consortium comprises 23 organisations, with four partners qualified as IODE Associated Data Units (ADU) and ten others as IODE National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODC). The partnership is geographically distributed and includes all European OBIS nodes (EurOBIS, MedOBIS, OBIS UK, OBIS Black Sea), collaboration with other international initiatives is also ensure via the consortium with the inclusion, of, e.g. IODE and ICES. This phase will see an expansion of webservices, the implementation of management practices for other types data like -omics and images and the migration to the Central Portal. Several new data products will be created and made freely available and a closer engagement with stakeholders will ensure that this work will better answer their requirements.
The EMODnet biology infrastructure is supported by and building on components and tools developed by the Lifewatch ERIC and Lifewatch Marine. | Completed |
| | EOSC-Life GOs | 42375 | Antonis Potirakis | Antonis Potirakis | A workflow for marine Genomic Observatories data analysis | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2021-01-01 | 2023-08-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Haris Zafeiropoulos, Evangelos Pafilis, Stelios Ninidakis, Antonis Potirakis, Georgios Kotoulas | | Microbial community profiling of marine environments through metagenomics has the potential to transform our understanding of the ecosystem services supported by microbial organisms. Moreover, microbiome diversity is directly correlated with environmental quality through the food chain and the physical and chemical effects of secondary metabolites. Many of the latter provide targets for bioprospecting in medicine and industry.
The project will design an effective workflow and deployment strategy for the analysis of the metagenomic genomic observatory (GO) data. It is considered of great importance that the data and preliminary results are made available rapidly to the marine biological community, but also that the data are quality controlled and standardised before release.
The proposed work is aimed at making the large volumes of data produced by the GOs more easily interpretable by the marine biological community by providing the taxonomic inventories of each sample in a timely manner and in a non-technical format. This way, researchers without the technical expertise to analyse such data on their own, as well as policy makers and management agencies, will have the opportunity to inspect the results and understand the biodiversity patterns that are being shaped by the marine microbial communities. | Completed |
| | MAF-WORLD | 0 | Thanos Dailianis | Thanos Dailianis | Marine Animal Forests of the World - COST Action CA20102 | EU | COST | COST | 2021-01-01 | 2025-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity | Vasilis Gerovasileiou | https://www.cost.eu/cost-action/marine-animal-forest-of-the-world/ | The network aims to develop an integrative vision that will fuel research and steer future policies on crosscutting sustainability-driven issues related to the fragmented governance of Marine Animal Forests (MAFs) in coastal and open ocean waters, creating cross-sectoral platform for partners across academia, policymaking and civil society, offering inclusive spaces for a transdisciplinary dialogue. We will also unify the protocols for restoration of the MAFs of the World, with nature-based solutions, to face climate change, natural disasters, and food supply.
| Active |
| | MYCOTOXINS | 94835 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Mycotoxins in aquaculture: Innovative management practices to protect fish and consumer health | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2021-03-19 | 2023-12-31 | | Fish quality and safety | Ioannis Nengas, Morgane Henry | | The project aims to investigate the issue of mycotoxine possible presence in aquaculture feeds and related side effects in the health and growth of Mediterranean farmed finfish | Completed |
| | PRAZIQUANTEL | 196660 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Evaluation of the dietary administration of the anthelmintic praziquantel as an alternative to formalin treatment | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2021-03-19 | 2023-12-31 | | Fish health | Ioannis Nengas, Morgane Henry, Dimitra Kogianou, Manto Kotsiri, Chrisanthi Nikoloudaki | | The project will evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of dietary-administered efficacy of praziquantel (PZQ) as an alternative to formalin baths in aquaculture medicine. The trials will include: i) an investigation of the absorption of PZQ in important tissues of gilthead sea bream, ii) possible toxicity effects on the treated animal, iii) adverse effects on non-target species and iv) efficacy evaluation against ecThe project will evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of dietary-administered efficacy of praziquantel (PZQ) as an alternative to formalin baths in aquaculture medicine. The trials will include: i) an investigation of the absorption of PZQ in important tissues of gilthead sea bream, ii) possible toxicity effects on the treated animal, iii) adverse effects on non-target species and iv) efficacy evaluation against ectoparasites of gilthead sea breamtoparasites of gilthead sea bream | Completed |
| | SANTORY | 15140 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | SANTORini's seafloor volcanic observatorY | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2021-01-01 | 2022-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity | Moshoula Livadara, Vasiliki Papadimitriou | www.santory.gr | SANTORY will establish a cutting-edge seafloor observatory using innovative marine technology (integrating hyperspectral and temperature sensors, a radiation spectrometer, fluid/gas samplers and pressure gauges) within the most-active submarine Mediterranean volcano, Kolumbo. It is located just 7 km NE (500m b.s.l.) of the well-known Santorini volcanic island and its hydrothermal system emits mantle-derived fluids consisting of nearly pure gaseous CO2 together with aqueous fluids venting at 220oC. SANTORY will build an open-access data hub using innovative visualization and virtual reality technologies to present the volcanic dynamics driving scientific knowledge advances and communicating hazards to the society in easy to understand ways. The outcomes of SANTORY will provide the impetus for much needed multidisciplinary collaboration in Greece and across EU and will be a first step for understanding of such natural laboratories to underpin development of next-generation shallow volcanic seafloor observatories. | Completed |
| | SocioCoast | 86719 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Enhance promotion of beaches and coastal areas and problem reporting through crowd sourcing activities | Others | INTERREG | INTERREG | 2021-05-10 | 2023-05-09 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Christina Pavloudi, Irene Filiopoulou, Georgia Sarafidou, Markos Digenis, Ioannis Rallis | http://sociocoast.eu/ | The project SocioCoast aims to offer complementary information and IT tools to the Blue Flag information system, which is the most well known and reliable system for beach quality evaluation applied in more than 50 countries and awarded under strict criteria to organized beaches and marinas. Data and information will be collected during the project for selected beaches in Crete and Cyprus and offered to the public regarding: a) biodiversity, and more specifically information on marine species interesting for divers, dangerous species or alien species, and b) oceanographic and meteorological data for leisure activities (e.g. nautical sports, nautical tourism, leisure fishing). The selected locations will be preferably part of the Natura 2000 network and at the same time they will need to satisfy some other criteria (e.g. accessibility for people with disabilities). The ICT tools that will be developed during the project will offer updated and enriched information for the visitors and will also offer them the opportunity to interactively contribute to the updating of such information through crowd-sourcing (e.g. tourists will be able to submit information about pollution events, appearance of new species and status of touristic facilities). Finally, the opportunity for big data analysis and the enrichment of the platform with new applications will be offered through the project activities. | Completed |
| | 100DGP | 0 | Frédéric Verret | Frédéric Verret | 100 Diatom Genomes Project | Others | CSP | CSP | 2020-09-11 | 2023-09-10 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Georgios Kotoulas | https://jgi.doe.gov/csp-2021-100-diatom-genomes/ https://www.uea.ac.uk/news/-/article/new-project-aims-to-provide-genetic-insights-into-key-aquatic-microbes | Diatoms, a class of microalgae, are found in nearly all marine and freshwater habitats and are the most species-rich algal class, with at least 100,000 species. They are important to the world's eco-system and contribute to 20 per cent of global carbon fixation and oxygen production. However, with genomic information from only about 10 diatoms, our ability to harness their unique biology is very limited. This new project will sequence 100 diatom species to provide insights into their roles as key players for capturing carbon dioxide and as the foundation of diverse aquatic food webs. The ‘100 Diatom Genomes Project’ is one of 27 proposals to be supported through the annual Community Science Program (CSP) call of the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (JGI), which makes large-scale genomics available to researchers studying relevant issues in energy and environment. The three-year project involves more than 20 collaborators, coordinated by Prof. Thomas Mock from the UoEast Anglia – Norwich, UK. It is one of several accepted proposals that reflect JGI’s interest in algal research for bioenergy production and algae’s roles in nutrient cycling.” Collaborators will cultivate diatoms and/or extract nucleic acids (e.g. RNA) in their laboratory and send cell/nucleic acid samples for sequencing and bioinformatics analysis offered by JGI (i.e. in-kind). | Completed |
| | AltMedSea-bream | 48000 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Effectiveness of terrestrial and marine plant extracts for the prevention and treatment of parasite infections (Microcotyle spp, Myxosporea) and of myxobacteriosis in cultured Sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health | Dimitris Christos Kanakis, Dimitrios Kampantais, Vasiliki Ilia | | The aim of this project is to study the prevention and treatment of three major diseases of cultured sea bream (Sparus aurata) causing mortalities with natural extracts of plants, algae and zeolite, substances that have not been tested thoroughly in Mediterranean marine aquaculture for specific diseases. Some of them have been used in human food as general immunostimulants.
The following substances will be used: (zingiber officinale), Aloe barbadensis, propolis, Artemisia annua, Thymus vulgaris, Fucus vesiculosus and zeolite. The above plants have been selected due to their medicinal and pharmacological properties referred in international bibliography. Artemisia annua, has been tested in seabream infected with Sparicotyle chrysophrii in vitro and in the field culture with excellent results. Zeolite has been used extensively in agriculture, as feed additive and in aquaculture mainly for water treatment. Fucus Vesiculosus is one of the common brown Mediterranean algae. It is very nutritious and has antimicrobial and antifungal properties and can stimulate the fish metabolism.
In this project in vitro trials will be performed in a wide spectrum of substances on Myxobacteria spp cultures. According to the in vitro results the substances providing the best action against bacteria will be selected for further in vivo experiments with sea bream.
Furthermore, antiparasitic treatments will be tested in experimental tanks (2-3 doses each) and the doses of substances showing the best antiparasitic action dose will be incorporated in fish feed using a tween extruder and a vacuum coater and will be tested in field trials in a commercial fish farm.
The mortality, effectiveness will be studied and the effect on the growth performance and health of fish will be assessed employing growth parameters, hematology and histology. The microbiological status of the intestine will be also investigated. Finally, any possible immunostimulant and protective effect of the proposed medicated feed will be assessed by means of serum tests, expression of antioxidant genes, anti- and pro-inflammatory cytokines in both experimental fish in tanks and in the field trial. | Completed |
| | AquaSafe | 135300 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Α geoinformatic system to support precision aquaculture | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2020-01-07 | 2023-05-30 | | Production technologies | Panagiotis Anastasiadis | | Following the trend for "precision culture", the present project aims to create a comprehensive geo-information system for remote monitoring and early warning of aquaculture using telescopic and in-situ data. | Completed |
| | BESTBROOD | 174650 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Identification of broodstock performance indivators and markers to boost the aquaculture of emerging fish species | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2020-09-01 | 2023-8-3 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Fakriadis | | Appropriate broodstock management is essential for supporting reproductive function and reliable and consistent production of gametes and high-quality eggs, critical for the rapid increase in juveniles supply and turn aquaculture into a profitable industry. In all species commercialized to date, this has been the first significant challenge to overcome and it is still so for many emerging species. The
BESTBROOD project aims to build upon state-of-the-art from previous EU and National projects and, evolve biotechnologies that significantly improve broodstock management methods and enhance reproductive performance of selected emerging species (Senegalese sole, greater amberjack, spotted wolffish and lumpfish). All these species are in an early commercial stage, but all have showed suitability for farming, high economic value and market demand. To create the BEST BROODstocks the project plans to:
develop genetic markers and bioindicators;
create knowledge on the best rearing conditions;
improve the control of the maturation cycles;
test hormonal therapies and artificial fertilization methods and;
reduce dependence on wild fish for egg production.
As a result, the BESTBROOD will lead to a more stable and predictable supply of high volumes of high-quality eggs for the production of juveniles to meet market demands for sustainability, and increase Europe’s aquaculture competitiveness. The BESTBROOD brings together a multi-disciplinary consortium of partners with established expertise in fish breeding and reproductive biology to develop, validate and up-scale to the industry new tools and technologies and ensure research efforts are targeted to overcome the main reproductive bottlenecks affecting the project’s focus species. The BESTBROOD Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) is oriented to the needs and demands of the aquaculture industry, improving knowledge exchange, innovation, communication and dissemination and thus
increasing the final impact of the projects. | Completed |
| | BlueS_Med | 45000 | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Supporting the development of socially-inclusive Blue Challenges in schools in the Mediterranean sea-basin | EU | EU ERASMUS+ | EU ERASMUS+ | 2020-09-01 | 2023-08-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | | | The project aims at developing, testing and evaluating innovative approaches to integrate ocean/marine issues and challenges in the curriculum and educational activities of schools in different Mediterranean countries. | Completed |
| | ENVRI-FAIR | 137795 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Environmental Research Infrastructures building Fair services Accessible for society, Innovation and Research | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2020-05-01 | 2022-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Dimitra Mavraki, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Emmanouela Panteri | https://envri.eu/home-envri-fair/ | This project is the connection of the ESFRI Cluster of Environmental Research Infrastructures (ENVRI) to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Participating research infrastructures of the environmental domain cover the subdomains of Atmosphere, Marine, Solid Earth and Biodiversity/Ecosystems. The overarching goal is to built a set of FAIR data services which enhances the efficiency and productivity of researchers, supports innovation, enables data- and knowledge-based decisions and connects the ENVRI Cluster to the EOSC. This goal will be reached by 1) well defined community policies and standards on all steps of the data life cycle, aligned with the wider European policies, as well as with international developments; 2) each participating RI will have sustainable, transparent and auditable data services compliant to the FAIR principles; 3) focus will be given to the implementation of prototypes for testing pre-production services, and 4) the complete set of thematic data services and tools provided by the ENVRI cluster will be exposed under the EOSC catalogue of services. | Completed |
| | EXPLIAS | 77371 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | Design and pilot testing of methods for the commercial exploitation of invasive alien species with the aim to contribute to their population control | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Thekla Anastasiou, Eirini Κagiampaki | | EXPLIAS research project aims to perform a primary survey for three of the most important invasive alien species (IAS) in the Greek seas, namely Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789), Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) and Fistularia commersonii (Rüppell, 1838), and to examine their current stocks. In addition, it aims to explore possible prospects for their sustainable management on the basis of marine biodiversity protection and restoration, as well as in the light of achieving an optimum economic exploitation of their biomass. In this context, the content of added-value substances, such as collagen, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, will be determined in the specific IAS and innovative methods for processing and utilization of those substances in cosmetology and food industry will be investigated. Assessing the toxic burden of IAS is another key objective of EXPLIAS, and chemical analysis of biotoxins in lagocephalus and lionfish samples will be carried out for this purpose. Moreover, research will be conducted for the development of novel treatment technologies that will enable the effective detoxification of lagocephalus from tedrodotoxin (TTX) and promote the exploitation of the "clean" fish biomass. By highlighting new ways of exploitation, EXPLIAS aims to place the specific IAS in the crosshairs of intensive fishing, which will eventually lead to a reduction in their population. | Completed |
| | Fish Superfoods | 153805 | Eleni Fountoulaki | Eleni Fountoulaki | Development of new functional fish-superfood for a more efficient fish farming | Greece | EPAnEK 2014-2020 | EPAnEK 2014-2020 | 2020-07-28 | 2023-08-28 | | | Morgane Henry, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Kriton Grigorakis, George Rigos, Ioannis Nengas | | The main objective of the present proposal is to produce innovative fish superfoods with a positive impact on the health, development and nutritional value of farmed fish, such as seabass and seabream. These new improved fish foods will be enriched with bioactive peptides and oligosaccharides derived from the blue-green algae spirulina (Arthrospira platensis), as well as with modified fish food lipids, characterized by increased stability against oxidation. These nutritional supplements will significantly upgrade the quality of produced fish food, resulting in substantial improvements in the growth, health and nutritional value of farmed seabass and seabream. These novel fish superfoods will promote the growth, health, fitness and nutritional value of cultured fish and will contribute significantly to enhancing the efficiency and commercial success of tomorrow’s fisheries. Finally, the success of the proposed research will address –at least in part- the global problem of raw materials shortage (fishmeal, fish oil) in aquaculture.
A total number of 6 research bodies comprised of research laboratories and companies will collaborate to the project, which will be implemented in 3 work packages including the creation of protocols for the mass production of insects and micro-algae, the evaluation of their nutritional composition and the conduct of a series of dietary experiments with sea bream and seabass to assess the use of these raw materials in growth, feed utilization, health, nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics of fish. All traditional channels of dissemination of results will be used to disseminate the results, such as presentations at workshops and exhibitions, conferences, scientific articles, websites and brochures. The ultimate goal of the research is to enhance the environmental and financial sustainability and competitiveness of Greek aquaculture by reducing its dependence on limited natural resources such as fishmeal and fish oil and using feed materials produced with a significantly lower environmental footprint and possibly at a more economical price, such as insect larvae and micro-algae. | Completed |
| | FishPhytoFeed | 70000 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Development of an Advanced Integrated Toolbox for in vitro high-throughput screening of quality and phyto-estrogens in feed ingredients for Mediterranean finfish | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-29 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Eleni Fountoulaki, Ioannis Papadakis, Stavros Chatzifotis | http://www.imbbc.hcmr.gr/node/scientific_projects/fishphytofeed | The use of alternative ingredients in fish feeds calls for the development of adequate methodology for the control of their quality. Current methodologies are of analytical character and lacking the capacity to actually determine the dimension of their biological effects. The ultimate goal of the FishPhytoFeed is the development of an advanced integrated toolkit for the in vitro high throughput screening of fish feeds ingredients based on their biological activities and effects. No use of live fish will be required and the toolkit determinations will be combined in a synthetic quality factor that will reflect the effects of ingredients on key biological processes that consist fish growth. | Completed |
| | FutureMARES | 184987 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Climate Change and Future Marine Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2020-09-01 | 2024-08-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Christina Pavloudi, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Thanos Dailianis, Christos Arvanitidis, Katerina Vasiliadou | https://www.futuremares.eu/ | This project aims to provide socially and economically viable nature-based solutions (NBS) for climate change adaptation and mitigation to safeguard the natural capital, biodiversity and services of marine and transitional ecosystems. The links between species, community traits, ecological functions and ecosystem services under the impact of climate change will be studied using the best available data from monitoring programs, targeted experiments and beyond state-of-the-art modelling. Ensemble physical-biogeochemical projections will identify climate change hotspots and refugia. Shifts in the distribution and productivity of keystone and endangered species and the consequences for biodiversity will be projected within different NBS scenarios to reveal potential ecological benefits, feedbacks and trade-offs. Novel, social-ecological vulnerability assessments will rank the severity of climate impacts on various ecosystem services and dependent human communities and inform managers and policy-makers on the respective economic costs. Finally, three scenarios of NBS will be developed: i) restoration of habitat-forming species acting as ‘climate rescuers’, ii) conservation actions aiming to preserve the integrity of food webs (e.g. MPAs) and protect endangered species, and iii) sustainable ecosystem-based harvesting of seafood. | Active |
| | LIONHARE | 62442 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | Development of innovative strategies for monitoring, mapping and mitigation of the invasive species lagocephalus (Lagocephalus sceleratus) and lionfish (Pterois sp.) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Thekla Anastasiou | https://lionhare.hcmr.gr/ | LIONHARE project aims at developing innovative methods and tools for the monitoring, mapping and mitigation of invasive species causing adverse financial and ecological impact. Although research will focus on lagocephalus (Lagocephalus sceleratus) and lionfish (Pterois sp.), the new methods/tools could be widely used for evaluating population trends and combating other harmful marine invasive species. Moreover, the project aims to inform and cooperate with professional and amateur fishermen, in a joint effort to reduce lagocephalus and lionfish populations and prevent and/or mitigate their negative effects on humans, fisheries and biodiversity. Within this framework, the breeding habitats of the species under investigation and of their juveniles will be identified, and innovative targeted actions will be implemented to reduce the reproductive population, as well as the recruitment of juveniles to these habitats. Depending on the effectiveness of the aforementioned actions, the possibility of commercializing the innovative tools that will be developed within the project (e.g. traps, new fishing gear), through patents or other suitable means will be considered. The methodological framework concerning the commercial exploitation of lionfish or part of the lagocephalus population for secondary uses will also be studied. | Completed |
| | LagoMeal | 319930 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | An alternative way of utilizing the alien fish species of the genus Lagocephalus. Production of fishmeal for use in the diet of Mediterranean farmed marine species | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2020-11-27 | 2023-05-26 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Fish quality and safety | Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Morgane Henry, Kriton Grigorakis, Manolis Mandalakis, Stavros Chatzifotis | | The present proposal aims to produce new and comprehensive knowledge on the inactivation of tetradotoxin (TTX) from all the tissues of fish of the genus Lagocephalus, to utilize it for the production of fishmeal. The produced innovative raw material will be evaluated for its nutritional value as the main ingredient for the nutrition, health and quality of the final product of cultured European seabass.The project is expected to have the following results:
• The preparation for the first time of an operational plan that will describe the chain of distribution (logistics) of discarded fish from the point of unloading by the fishermen to the unit (or units) of processing and production of fishmeal,
• The development of a protocol that will ensure the deactivation of TTX and at the same time the high nutritional value of fishmeal in fish feed for Mediterranean farmed fish species,
• Creation of financial incentives for fishermen to increase their fishing effort and landing quantities. The increase in fishing effort is expected to result on the reduction of the fish population,
• The availability of locally produced fishmeal. Fish feed companies in Greece import significant quantities of fishmeal which is burdened with transport costs and its price is depending on availability internationally. The results of the proposed project will enable companies in the industry to meet part of their needs in this raw material locally and at a cheaper price. | Completed |
| | MARIKAT | 84460 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | New catalytic enzymes and enzymatic processes from the marine microbiome for refining marine seaweed biomass | Greece | ERANET | ERANET | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Manolis Mandalakis, Georgios Kotoulas, Antonios Magoulas, Vasiliki Papadimitriou | | The technological objective of MARIKAT is to unlock the potential of microbiomes in providing enzymatic tools for emerging biorefineries of Europe to establish seaweed polysaccharides as a feedstock for biconversions to value added derivatives. Enzymatic refining of macroalgal polysaccharides to added value products on industrial scale is near to non-existent today - robust enzymatic tools are lacking. MARIKAT entails retrieval, evaluation and industrial development of enzymes identified in novel extremophilic marine microbial genomes and metagenomes | Completed |
| | MagnetoFish | 56140 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Physiological basis of marine fish rearing in the presence of Electromagnetic fields | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2020-01-07 | 2023-05-30 | | Production technologies, Fish behaviour | Panagiotis Anastasiadis | https://magnetofish.weebly.com/ | The objectives of the project is to study the effect of magnetic fields, of intensity observed close to industrial units of energy harvesting, on the physiology, welfare and performance of two commercially important fish species the E. seabass and the greater amberjack. | Completed |
| | NAUTILOS | 895875 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | New approach to underwater technologies for innovative, low-cost ocean observation | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2020-10-01 | 2024-09-30 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Thanos Dailianis, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Irene Filiopoulou, Dimitra Mavraki, Niki Keklikoglou, Emmanouela Panteri, Georgia Sarafidou, Markos Digenis, Ioannis Rallis | www.nautilos-h2020.eu | NAUTILOS will fill in existing marine observation and modelling gaps through the development of a new generation of cost-effective sensors and samplers for physical (salinity, temperature), chemical (inorganic carbon, nutrients, oxygen), and biological (phytoplankton, zooplankton, marine mammals) essential ocean variables, in addition to micro-/nano-plastics, to improve our understanding of environmental change and anthropogenic impacts related to aquaculture, fisheries, and marine litter. Newly developed marine technologies will be integrated with different observing platforms and deployed through the use of novel approaches in a broad range of key environmental settings (e.g. from shore to deep-sea deployments) and EU policy-relevant applications: a) Fisheries & Aquaculture Observing Systems; b) Platforms of Opportunity demonstrations; c) Augmented Observing Systems demonstration; d) Demonstrations on ARGO Platform; e) Animal-borne Instruments. The fundamental aim of the project will be to complement and expand current European observation tools and services, to obtain a collection of data at a much higher spatial resolution and temporal regularity and length than currently available at the European scale, and to further enable and democratise the monitoring of the marine environment to both traditional and non-traditional data users. Extensive citizen science initiatives are organised in order to facilitate public awareness and engagement. | Active |
| | NEWTECHAQUA | 254500 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | New Technologies, Tools and Strategies for a Sustainable, Resilient and Innovative European Aquaculture, under the Call: Sustainable European aquaculture 4.0: nutrition and breeding | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2020-01-01 | 2023-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Aquaculture Genetics | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Fakriadis, Stefano Lancerotto | https://www.newtechaqua.eu | The NewTechAqua project (www.newtechaqua.eu) will address all requirements identified by the European Commission in the call text BG-04-2019, promoting a modern, resilient and sustainable production of fish, mollusks and algae. Advanced technologies, new tools and precision fish farming concepts will innovate, support and improve the whole value chain of European aquaculture. Standard and organic feed formulations will be developed according to the circular economy principles, whereas new feeding strategies, farming systems and genetic selection will improve health and welfare of farmed aquatic animals. Precision fish farming technologies and big data analyses will enhance the farmer's ability to monitor, control and document the production condition, increasing feed efficiency and permitting to predict and mitigate disease outbreaks. Innovative microbiome applications will be implemented and utilized to improve farmed fish microbiomes for better health and productivity. The improvement in reproduction cycle of two economically important species, like amberjack and meagre, will increase the European aquaculture production and diversification. NewTechAqua project will also contribute to increase available, accessible, affordable and nutritious food, developing new products, increasing shelf life of fish and mollusks through innovative technologies and new packaging systems. The participation of a wide number of stakeholders, training and dissemination activities will guarantee a wide spread of the results achieved during and after the end the project and a valuable socio-economical impact. | Completed |
| | Sea-Unicorn | 0 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems in Europe | EU | COST | COST | 2020-04-01 | 2024-03-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | | |
The overall aim of Ocean4Biotech is to bring together experts in the field of marine biotechnology, to provide a platform for sharing experience, knowledge and technologies and to design a roadmap for a more efficient and rapid development of marine biotechnology research in Europe and beyond. | Active |
| | AQUA-FAANG | 268393 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Advancing European Aquaculture by Genome Functional Annotation | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2019-05-01 | 2023-04-30 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Functional and Comparative genomics | Elena Sarropoulou, Pantelis Katharios, Tereza Manousaki, Elisavet Kaitetzidou | https://www.aqua-faang.eu/ | The overall objective of AQUA-FAANG is to generate genome-wide functional annotation maps for the six commercially most important fish species within European aquaculture and exploit their contribution to variation in traits of commercial relevance, focusing on improved resistance to disease. The project brings together world-leading expertise from academia and industry in a coordinated initiative to significantly improve our understanding of genome functions and prediction of phenotype from genotype. The project outputs will pave the way for precision breeding (defined here as the applied use of technologies that enable targeted and sustainable genetic improvement in traits of economic and welfare importance) to improve disease resistance and other commercial traits in aquaculture. In turn, this will promote sustainability and competitiveness in European fish aquaculture and contribute to cross-national food security. The experimental, bioinformatic and comparative approaches developed will be translated to accelerate genome annotation in other species of importance for global aquaculture, aided by a core emphasis on sharing and standardization of data, protocols and expertise | Completed |
| | Antifoul | 53685 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Antifouling material based on TiO2 for aquaculture use | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-10-11 | 2022-10-10 | | Production technologies, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Evsevia Sfakaki | https://www.hmu.gr/antifoul/ | The objectives of the project is to developand test new materials for the aquaculture nets with antifouling action being also environmentally friendly based on TιΟ2. | Completed |
| | ENTOMO4FISH | 26500 | Stavros Chatzifotis | Stavros Chatzifotis | Insect meal as an alternative source of protein in the diet of farmed fish | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-06-18 | 2023-06-17 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish quality and safety | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | http://entomo4fish.bio.auth.gr/ | The necessity of replacing fishmeal with other sources of protein is imperative due to the global increase in both the human population and the consumption of aquaculture products. At the same time, the increasing demand for fish meal, supplied by fish stocks, in the diet of farmed species, exacerbates the problem of existing overfishing. This research project focuses on insect meal as an alternative source of protein in farmed fish feeds, focusing on the most important fish species of Mediterranean aquaculture, the gilthead seabream and the European sea bass. In particular, the research at ENTOMO4FISH focuses on vertically integrated production, that is, from the rearing of different insect species fed with different substrates for the production of insect meal with optimum composition. The provided insect meal after processing will be examined in fish feeds using a holistic approach. Their digestibility, acceptance by fish, as well as parameters such as growth, welfare, intestinal microbiome, physiological fish responses, metabolic and immunological genes, as well as the quality of the final product, will be examined. At the same time, the proposal focuses on the traceability of commercially available insect meal products in the Greek market in order to ensure the quality of both aquafeed and fish. Finally, the possibility of mass production of the tested insects with the most efficient substrates under Greek conditions is considered. | Completed |
| | FInAl | 65000 | Morgane Henry | Morgane Henry | Use of insect protein and phytoplankton oil to replace fishmeal and fish oil in the diets of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-6-18 | 2022-6-17 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Fish quality and safety | Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Ioannis Nengas | http://final.uth.gr/ | The aim of the proposed research is to examine the possibility of mass production of insect and micro-algae species for future industrial exploitation and to explore the possibility of partial replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in sea bream and sea bass diets. A total number of 3 research bodies comprised of staff from 6 research laboratories will collaborate to the project, which will be implemented in 5 work packages including the creation of protocols for the mass production of insects and micro-algae, the evaluation of their nutritional composition and the conduct of a series of dietary experiments with sea bream and seabass to assess the use of these raw materials in growth, feed utilization, health, nutritional value and organoleptic characteristics of fish.
| Completed |
| | IoanianAlgae | 19960 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Isolation of endemic microalgae of the Ionian Sea and their utilization to produce high value-added products | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-09-20 | 2022-06-17 | | | | | IonianAlgae's goal is to isolate young strains of the Ionian Sea microalgae, and to identify them with molecular techniques. The newly isolated executives will be the start of a collection, which will be available to researchers and private companies for research and commercial exploitation. The strains will be grown under laboratory conditions and will be analyzed for amino acids, fatty acids for further study. | Completed |
| | MAGIATIKO- KOΤΙΓΙΑΜΑ | 132095 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Improvement of broodstock management practices and production of juveniles of greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-06-19 | 2022-06-15 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish behaviour, Aquaculture Genetics | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Fakriadis, Ioannis Papadakis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Stavros Chatzifotis | https://magiatiko.weebly.com | Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) is a fast-growing and large-sized pelagic fish that is found almost all over the world in the temperate zone. The species is related to the yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) reared in Japan, the yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) reared in Australia and the longfin yellowtail (Seriola rivoliana) reared in America. These fish are mainly sold in relatively expensive restaurants and as sushi-sashimi due to the very good quality of their flesh. The greater amberjack, mainly due to its rapid growth and large size (it can reach 3 kg in 2 years), is the main species in the effort of diversification of Greek and Mediterranean fish farming.
As part of the DIVERSIFY program, which was coordinated by HCMR and which involves most of the partners in this proposal, we have managed to control the reproduction of the greater amberjack and have good quality eggs for fry production. The results of the larval breeding in the last two years have been very encouraging, and we believe we are in the process of improving our knowledge on issues that have to do with optimizing both egg and juvenile production.
Given the interest of the three companies (Argosaronikos, Galaxidi and Irida) in the ongoing effort to integrate the greater amberajack into the production of Greek fish farming, and the availability of two very good breeding groups in Argosaronikos and Galaxidi, we can continue our cooperation and management experiments in breeding and production of fry, within the framework of the GSRT's funding "Aquaculture". The objective of the proposal is to
(a) improve broodstock management for better egg production, and
(b) develop improved larval and fry production protocols based on assessment of ontogenesis, skeletal malformations and the use of probiotics in food. | Completed |
| | MEAGREGEN | 152252 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Genomic Study of meagre (Argyrosomus regius) with the aim of mapping genetic sites of quantitative properties and launching the first European genetic selection program | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-10-10 | 2022-10-10 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography | Nikos Papandroulakis, Constantinos Mylonas, Tereza Manousaki, Katerina Oikonomaki, Vasso Terzoglou | | The goal of the MeagreGen research project is multidimensional and builds on synergies between two large industrial companies with long experience in gilthead sea bream and the European sea bass genetic selection, and the three leading Greek research partners in the fields of quantitative genetics and genomics. Initially, the genetic diversity of the meagre that exists in Greek companies will be evaluated because a successful genetic improvement program is a prerequisite for starting properly with a base population with rich genetic diversity. Next, the genome and transcriptome sequence of the meagre will be determined using state-of-the-art methodologies and technologies that will place the species in the fish elite with a full genome. The construction of a very good transcriptome, a very dense linkage map, and genomic sequencing are all interconnected with future genetic mapping associated with Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) and are required as a foundation for the application of Marker Assisted Selection (MAS) or Genomic Selection (GS). Finally, the first pilot program of selective breeding in meagre will be launched, continuing more thorough preliminary investigative work, detecting QTL and applying the first MAS to a new generation that will be analyzed and evaluated before the end of the proposed project | Completed |
| | Material | 111920 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Innovative material for aquaculture nets with environmentally friendly antifouling action | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2019-12-04 | 2022-11-04 | | Production technologies, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Evsevia Sfakaki | | The objectives of the project is to develop new materials for the aquaculture nets with antifouling action being also environmentally friendly. | Completed |
| | OXYGEN MGMT | 363815 | Ioannis Papadakis | Ioannis Papadakis | Oxygen management in fish farming sea cages for the maximization of production yield | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2019-04-12 | 2022-10-11 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish health, Fish behaviour | Stavros Chatzifotis, Pantelis Katharios, Constantinos Mylonas, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Kriton Grigorakis, Eleni Fountoulaki, Panagiota Tsoukali, Lydia Katsika, Evangelia Nanou | | Maintenance of oxygen saturation (O2) at optimal levels for every temperature range under rearing conditions should consider several key factors for the achievement of maximum production yield. However, in Greek mariculture, during summer months when the temperature of seawater is high, low oxygen levels in combination with high stocking density result in reduced growth of farmed fish. So, Greek sea bream and bass producers miss the opportunity to achieve a higher growth on their farmed biomass, which could reach up to a doubling of growth rates of sea bream and sea bass during the summer months. The negative consequences of the production process due to long periods with low oxygen concertation in seawater in rearing cages are not limited only to reduced growth, but also the increased incidence of diseases and reduced flesh quality of the final product. Therefore, the aim of this project will be the development of a methodology for the management of an oxygen supply system for sea bream and sea bass on-growing systems, aiming at the optimization of the production and welfare of the rearing population when the concentration of oxygen in rearing water is a limiting factor.
The proposed project includes 2 partners from research and academic organizations and 1 company from the Aquaculture sector. The coordinator organization will be HCMR, which is also will be the first research partner of the project and it will participate with the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC ) with research leader and coordinator of the project the Dr. Ioannis Papadakis (Associated Researcher). The second research / academic partner will be the University of Patras. The fish farm company Galaxidi Marine Farm S.A. will be the third partner in the project. | Completed |
| | Ocean4Biotech | 0 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | European transdisciplinary networking platform for marine biotechnology | EU | COST | COST | 2019-10-01 | 2023-09-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Thanos Dailianis | https://www.ocean4biotech.eu | The overall aim of Ocean4Biotech is to bring together experts in the field of marine biotechnology, to provide a platform for sharing experience, knowledge and technologies and to design a roadmap for a more efficient and rapid development of marine biotechnology research in Europe and beyond. | Completed |
| | PERFILLET | 188544 | Kriton Grigorakis | Kriton Grigorakis | Improving of produced gilthead sea bream and pagrus fillets by reduction of the gaping problem (PERFILLET) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2019-04-12 | 2022-08-11 | | Fish quality and safety | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Dimitra Kogianou, Antigoni Vasilaki | | | Completed |
| | RECREATIONAL DIVING OASIS WITH ARTIFICIAL REEFS | 212406 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Recreation Diving Oasis with artificial habitats | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2019-03-15 | 2021-09-14 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | http://ubpcrete.hcmr.gr | This demonstration project of innovative technology of HCMR-IMBBC concerns the deployment and performance monitoring in the field of a complete arrangement of a new type of artificial habitats in order to create an "oasis" recreational diving. The experimental arrangement will be deployed in the "Underwater Biotechnological Park of Crete" an area of the seabed 25.000 m2 at 20m depth located very close to the IMBBC land premises in Gournes, Heraklion, aiming to protect marine biodiversity and at the same time to support recreational diving tourism in Greece. The overall goal of this demonstration project is to promote the development of a network of recreation diving oases firstly in the Region Crete. The creation of this network could substitute or prevent, to some extent, the current trend for establishing diving parks in remote and environmentally sensitive large areas of the seabed with particular ecological value, high biodiversity and aesthetics but also characterized by significant environmental management and surveillance problems as well as conservation and protection of marine life. The use of the innovative technology of HCMR is expected to contribute to the development of a series of similar public or private projects in Greece as well as in other Mediterranean countries and overseas that can be installed very close to major urban and tourist centers, in small in size areas of the seabed (10-30 acres), in relatively small depths (from 15-30 meters) and in sites that do not show any particular ecological, fishing or archaeological interest. It should be noted that the innovative products " HCMR artificial recreational diving habitat " and " HCMR oasis for recreational diving" are already intellectual property trademarks (TM) of HCMR-IMBBC and also hold international patents offering industrial property protection in various Mediterranean countries and the USA. More information on the HCMR-IMBBC innovative technology can be found on the website: http://ubpcrete.hcmr.gr
| Completed |
| | ROBUST | 184660 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Prevention of Vibriosis due to Vibrio harveyi with innovative tools | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-06-18 | 2022-06-17 | | Fish health | Constantina Kokkari, Maria Smyrli | https://robust-project.weebly.com/ | Το Vibrio harveyi είναι ένα πολύ σημαντικό παθογόνο βακτήριο για τα καλλιεργούμενα ψάρια και ασπόνδυλα το οποίο συνδέεται με σοβαρές απώλειες στην παραγωγή. Η ασθένεια που προκαλεί το V. harveyi έχει τα χαρακτηριστικά βακτηριακής σηψαιμίας και συνδέεται με δερματικά έλκη, εκφύλιση οφθαλμών, αγγειίτιδα και εντερίτιδα. Στην Ελληνική ιχθυοκαλλιέργεια το βακτήριο έχει αναφερθεί σε λαβράκια, μαγιάτικα και συναγρίδες αλλά και σε τσιπούρες νεαρής ηλικίας. Η ασθένεια εμφανίζεται κυρίως όταν υπάρχει μεταβολή της θερμοκρασίας του νερού ιδιαίτερα την άνοιξη και το φθινόπωρο αλλά και κατά τη μετάβαση των νεαρών ιχθυδίων από το περιβάλλον του εκκολαπτηρίου στην ανοικτή θάλασσα για εκτροφή στους ιχθυοκλωβούς. Χαρακτηριστικό της γνώρισμα είναι η αναποτελεσματικότητα των αντιβιοτικών για την αντιμετώπισή της, κάτι που συνδέεται με την ανθεκτικότητα που παρουσιάζουν τα συγκεκριμένα βακτήρια στα αντιβιοτικά αλλά και την ευκολία με την οποία αναπτύσσουν αυτή την ανθεκτικότητα.
Στόχοι προτεινόμενου έργου :
Επιδημιολογική μελέτη της ασθένειας με συστηματική καταγραφή των περιστατικών, συλλογή δειγμάτων και συγκριτική γονιδιωματική των βακτηριακών στελεχών.
Ανάπτυξη πρωτοκόλλου ταχείας και έγκυρης ταυτοποίησης του μικροοργανισμού.
Λεπτομερής περιγραφή της παθολογίας στα είδη που προσβάλλονται.
Παραγωγή και ποιοτικός έλεγχος αυτεμβολίων.
Πειραματική πρόληψη της ασθένειας σε νεαρά ιχθύδια και ενήλικα άτομα μέσω των αυτεμβολίων.
| Completed |
| | SNPbb-chip | 52315 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Development of high density microstructures of Unique Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP-chip) for gilthead sea bream (Sparus Aurata) and Eurobean sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2019-12-24 | 2022-12-23 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography | Nikos Papandroulakis, Constantinos Mylonas, Tereza Manousaki, Katerina Oikonomaki, Vasso Terzoglou | | The Mediterranean production of European seabass and gilthead seabream is less than 15% of the total European aquaculture production. Seabass and Seabream are the two most economically important species for the Mediterranean aquaculture and among the Mediterranean countries; Greece is the biggest producer of in the European Union, having 60% of the seabream production and 52% of the seabass production. The already developed (selection) breeding programs in the two species, although in their infancy, have contributed significant genetic progress in growth related traits. However, the same breeding programs are lacking of success when traits that are difficult to measure on an individual basis (e.g. Feed Conversion Ratio) or traits with low heritability (e.g. disease resistance traits) are considered. The development of a new, common for both species, high density SNP micro array (SNP-chip) is considered to be the modern and efficient genomic tool to increase the rate of genetic improvement in traits that are already selected with classical selection methods, but also, in many other traits that are considered to be of great importance in the Greek aquaculture. The mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL), which are possibly affecting production traits of economic importance, in the genome of both species will be highly valuable in the (selection) breeding programs through the utilization of Marker Assisted Selection and/or the application of new high accuracy methods in the genetic evaluations, such as the Genomic Selection | Completed |
| | SPINAQUA | 349910 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | Sponges in integrated aquaculture systems: Towards the delivery of better seawater quality and marine products of high added-value | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2019-04-02 | 2022-04-01 | | Production technologies, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Thanos Dailianis, Nikos Papandroulakis, Costas Dounas (retired), Thekla Anastasiou, Emmanouela Vernadou, Despoina Varamogianni – Mamatsi | https://spinaqua.hcmr.gr/ | | Completed |
| | SUSINCHAIN | 208083 | Stavros Chatzifotis | Stavros Chatzifotis | SUStainable INsect CHAIN | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2019-10-01 | 2023-09-30 | | | Nikos Papandroulakis | https://susinchain.eu/ | Use of insect meal in animal feeds | Completed |
| | SYNTHESYS PLUS | 97781 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Synthesis of systematic resources | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2019-02-01 | 2023-01-31 | | Marine biodiversity | Niki Keklikoglou, Christos Arvanitidis | https://www.synthesys.info/ | Since 2004 SYNTHESYS has been an essential instrument supporting access and exploitation of European natural history collections, providing significant new insights for thousands of researchers, while fostering the development of new approaches to face urgent societal challenges. This project aims to bring together the European branches of the global natural science organisations (GBIF, TDWG, GGBN and CETAF) with the global scientific collections community. Major new developments include the delivery of a new virtual access programme, providing digitisation on demand services to a significantly expanded user community; the construction of a European Loans and Visits System (ELViS) will provide for the first time, a unified gateway to accessing digital, physical and molecular collections; and a new data processing platform (the Specimen Data Refinery), applying cutting edge artificial intelligence to dramatically speed up the digital mobilisation of natural history collections. The activities of SYNTHESYS+ form a critical dependency for DiSSCo - the Distributed System of Scientific Collections, which is the European collection communities ESFRI initiative. | Completed |
| | ΕΞΥΠΝΗ ΣΥΣΚΕΥΑΣΙΑ | 121945 | Kriton Grigorakis | Kriton Grigorakis | Application of smart and intelligent packaging for fish and development of a novel quality management and assurance tool for improved quality and extended shelf life | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2019-04-12 | 2022-10-11 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Eleni Fountoulaki, Manto Kotsiri, Evangelia Nanou | | | Completed |
| | ω3NUTRICARE | 69770 | Kriton Grigorakis | Kriton Grigorakis | Research and development of high nutritional value anti-inflammatory functional foods, enriched in n-3 fatty acids sourced from Greek fisheries and farming byproducts. | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2019-06-18 | 2022-06-17 | | Fish quality and safety | Eleni Fountoulaki, Ioannis Nengas, Evangelia Nanou | | | Completed |
| | AlgaFeed4Fish | 70075 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Καλλιέργεια μικροφυκών σε μεγάλη κλίμακα και χρήση της παραγόμενης βιομάζας ως εναλλακτική πρώτη ύλη ιχθυοτροφής | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2018-09-01 | 2021-08-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Vasiliki Ilia, Dimitris Christos Kanakis | https://www.hcmr.gr/el/news/algafeed4fish/ | The AlgaFeed4Fish project is the production of microalgae of the genera Nannochloropsis, Isochrysis and Hematococcus in laboratory scale and the know-how transfer and application in pilot scale in the marine aquaculture hatchery of PLAGTON SA . PLAGTON SA is a fish farm with hatchery, on-growing units and packaging unit and I will provide the necessary installations needed to implement the pilot experiments. The produced microalgal biomass will be processed with different methods by chemical hydrolysis in acid or alkaline environment, enzymatic hydrolysis or using ultrasound. The microalgal biomass will then be dried and incorporated in various % into fish diets and will be fed to sea bass, substituting partically fishmeal that is the main content of the fish feeds. | Completed |
| | AlienPorts | 140000 | Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou | Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou | Establishment of a Monitoring Network and a web-based platform of Non Indigenous Species in Major Ports of Greece | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2018-07-13 | 2021-07-12 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis, Costas Dounas (retired), Dimitris Androulakis, Grigorios Skouradakis | https://alienports.hcmr.gr | Great fundamental alterations to the Mediterranean Sea are underway. The increase of the sea temperature and pollution have identified as the most significant factors for species lost and habitats degradation. The opening of the Suez Canal introduced another severe impact in Mediterranean especially in shallow habitats. The non-indigenous species (NIS), which entered from the Red Sea to Mediterranean, affected the structure and the functioning of sea and consequent provision of goods and services. The majority of aliens in the eastern Mediterranean entered through the Suez Canal and the shipping activities. Today in Mediterranean almost 1,000 alien species have been reported, with the eastern basin being more prone to invasion than the western one. Among other ports are characterized as hot spot areas in terms of NIS. Since the rate of biological invasion in coastal aquatic ecosystems depends significantly on the volume of ship traffic to a region ports that enjoy a disproportionate share of global commerce are likely to be the most common sources and recipients of introduced species. Ports and small marinas act not only as gateways for alien species but also as reservoirs. They can produce a constant spillover of new invaders into surrounding areas and thereby contribute to their successful local establishment. The development of numerous marinas in many Mediterranean coastal areas in recent years could be providing a platform for the spread of invasives as these sites are closely associated with the dense vessels traffics (fishing or recreational boats or commercial ships) carrying alien species as hull fouling. Greece is in the geographic crossroad, thus playing a major role from many aspects since ancient times. Greek ports were the pathways of culture interactions, trading and transport routes and more recently some of the world’s top tourists transport infrastructures. Realizing the problem a number of directives and conventions has been proposed in order to control or eradicate alien species. In the same time a significant number of scientific papers has been published underline the impact of NIS.
Although, monitoring biodiversity in this changing ecosystem is of high scientific, management and policy interest, hence a common management plan for ports in terms of NIS is still missing. The AlienPort project will fill the current gaps about the taxonomy, distribution, functional traits and impact of NIS in port habitats by establishing a monitoring network across the main ports of Greece. This study will be one of the first, in Mediterranean, to: a) use a common sampling protocol focused on NIS, b) identify the alien species lists in the crucial ports of Greece, c) examine the competition of NIS with the native biota through the analysis of functional traits and d) propose common management plan and preventive activities. The above actions will assist to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of NIS on port benthic communities and control and limit the distribution of NIS in ports. | Completed |
| | BACTERIOPHAGES | 283960 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Biological control of pathogens in fish hatcheries using bacteriophages | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-06-13 | 2021-12-12 | | Fish health | Constantina Kokkari, Nikos Papandroulakis, Paraskevi Polymenakou, Manolis Mandalakis, Adriana Triga | https://bacteriophage-project.weebly.com/ | Στόχος του προτεινόμενου έργου είναι η δημιουργία κοκτέιλ φάγων με δραστικότητα έναντι των Vibrio που ενδημούν στα ελληνικά εκκολαπτήρια ψαριών και η διερεύνηση της δυνατότητας χρήσης τους ως «έξυπνου» απολυμαντικού για τις ζωντανές τροφές. Με τον τρόπο αυτό, στοχοποιούνται βακτήρια τα οποία είναι δυνητικά παθογόνα και όχι τα ευεργετικά βακτήρια που θα βοηθήσουν την υγιή ανάπτυξη των ψαριών. Από την υλοποίηση του έργου αναμένεται να αναπτυχθεί μια ιδιαίτερα καινοτόμος μεθοδολογία για την αντιμετώπιση των βακτηριακών παθογόνων που βρίσκονται με φυσικό τρόπο στα περιβάλλοντα των εκκολαπτηρίων. Η μεθοδολογία αυτή, είναι ασφαλής και περιβαλλοντικά φιλική. Ταυτόχρονα, θα πραγματοποιηθεί για πρώτη φορά λεπτομερής καταγραφή των βακτηριακών ειδών σε εκκολαπτήρια και θα μελετηθούν οι συσχετίσεις των βακτηριακών πληθυσμών μεταξύ των διαφόρων τμημάτων παραγωγής στα εκκολαπτήρια αλλά και μεταξύ διαφορετικών τύπων εκκολαπτηρίων. Η γνώση που θα παραχθεί θα αποτελέσει τη βάση για περεταίρω παρεμβάσεις με στόχο την παραγωγή ποιοτικού γόνου από τα ελληνικά εκκολαπτήρια ιχθύων. | Completed |
| | BIOMIC | 155000 | Ilias Lagouvardos | Ilias Lagouvardos | Large-scale bioinformat ic integration of sequence data for novel insights into microbial diversity and ecology | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2018-08-01 | 2021-07-31 | | | Georgios Kotoulas | | | Completed |
| | CMBR | 2620418 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | Centre for the study and sustainable exploitation of Marine Biological Resources | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2018-02-28 | 2021-02-27 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Georgios Kotoulas, Costas Dounas (retired), Nikos Papandroulakis, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Elena Sarropoulou, Pantelis Katharios, Thanos Dailianis, Paraskevi Polymenakou, George Rigos, Stavros Chatzifotis, Constantinos Mylonas, Aspasia Sterioti, Ioannis Papadakis, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Darivianakis, Wanda Plaiti, Anastasia Gioti, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Stelios Ninidakis, George Tsamis, Stamatina Nikolopoulou, Antonis Potirakis, Dimitra Mavraki, Christina Pavloudi, Ioulia Santi, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Dimitris Tsaparis, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Melanthia (Melina) Stavroulaki, Jelena Radojicic, Irene Filiopoulou, Harris Markomanolaki, Grigorios Skouradakis, Dimitris Androulakis, Dimitrios Voskakis, Thekla Anastasiou, Irene Filiopoulou, Frédéric Verret, Manolis Mandalakis, Emmanouela Panteri | http://cmbr.hcmr.gr/ | CMBR aims to the systematic, functional interconnection and cooperation between different research areas of marine research within the broader scientific community. CMBR makes up a distributed national research infrastructure, which is based upon the participation of IMBBC – HCMR in the European ESFRI Infrastructure “European Marine Biological Resource Centre” (EMBRC), is constituted by seven partners with proven excellence. The infrastructure aspires to become the main vehicle for promoting Development in the country Blue, creating a new paradigm of interdisciplinarity. It includes two research centres, four universities and a higher technological educational institute. More specifically, it is coordinated by the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture (IMBBC) of the Hellenic Centre for marine research (HCMR), the other partners being the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH) and the Polytechnic University of Crete, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the University of the Aegean, and the Higher Technological Educational Institute of Crete. During the preparatory phase of CMBR, priority will be given to access to it and to its effective operation, which seems possible thanks to connecting approach during the preparation of the proposal and because of the high maturity of most of its constituent infrastructures. During the course of implementation, the new equipment will be incorporated, which is expected to improve and simplify the operation and efficiency, know-how will be developed the, protocols evolved, synergistic practices and culture of multidisciplinarity will be developed. The priority to immediate entering into operational phase will be serviced by the appropriate mechanisms of governance and decision-making, visibility and communication, which will come from the establishment of the structures of the existing potential and by recruiting new qualified staff. The above logic of direct use of infrastructure will run through the implementation of the three Work Packages (WP) of the preparatory phase of the CMBR: WP1: Design and improvement of infrastructure, WP2: Joint research activities in the field of "blue growth" with use of the infrastructure, and WP3: Administrative and promotional activities for the operation of the infrastructure. | Completed |
| | ECCO | 140000 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Effects of climate change and ocean acidification on marine gastropods | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2018-07-13 | 2021-07-12 | | Reproduction and physiology, Environmental genomics, Ecology and ecosystem management | Niki Keklikoglou, Christos Arvanitidis, Elena Sarropoulou, Aspasia Sterioti | https://ecco.hcmr.gr/ | The long-term synergistic effects of climate change (ocean warming and acidification) on marine gastropods will be investigated through different experimental treatments using a combination of low or ambient pH and increased or ambient temperature. An integrated multi-disciplinary approach will be used to investigate morphological, physiological, behavioral, chemical and molecular responses on a complementary basis, as well as possible adaptations of the organisms. The effects on growth and mortality will be examined in individually marked gastropods. Morphology and integrity of calcified structures (e.g. shells, statoliths) will be investigated using a micro-computed tomograph (micro-CT) and advanced 3D model analysis (density, porosity, thickness and 3D-morphometrics). Confocal Raman Microscopy analysis will offer information regarding the mineralogical composition of CaCO3 polymorphs in the shells. Differences in gene expression related to shell forming processes (biomineralization, skeletogenesis), stressful events or general metabolism will be investigated. In addition, reproduction and early juvenile development will be studied in order to estimate the severity and consequences of future climate changes on gastropod populations. Also, the impact of ocean acidification on the success of vital activities such as foraging and predator avoidance will be examined as part of the behavioral evaluation. | Completed |
| | FITSHOW | 39048 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Longevity a welfare of sows: Genetic factors, nutritional management of growing gilts and control of urinary tract infections | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2018-06-01 | 2021-05-24 | | | | | The aim of the project is to improve the competitiveness of Greek swine farms through interventions in genetic selection & nutrition of growing young piglets to replace & understand the pathogenesis & prevention capabilities of PDO, through the following objectives:
1) Characterization & quantification of chewing alterations & analysis of the correlations between the occurrence of chewing alterations, the occurrence of chronic inflammation lesions in the chewing gum and the lameness between genetically selected pigs & sexually developed and developed as young animals without replacement animals & correlation of alterations with food amino acid levels.
2) Comparison of productivity & longevity between pigs that were genetically selected and developed as young replacement animals with or without dietary chemicals. | Completed |
| | FRESQO | 108594 | Kriton Grigorakis | Kriton Grigorakis | Fish Freshness Indicator (FRESQO) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-01-01 | 2022-12-31 | | Fish quality and safety | | | The proposed project FRESQO aims at the development of an innovative methodology and an innovative product (hardware and software) that will allow the automatic recognition of the "freshness" of the most important fisheries species, in terms of commercial value in Greece, with the possibility of expansion to all tradable fisheries items. This product will consist of a small (portable) spectral camera, that will be analysis a simple photograph of the fish, and will provide the control and decision system (a small computer) which will be able to provide indications of the freshness of a fish. The camera will provide hyperspectral image analysis while in the control and decision system there will be a specialized software that will make use of the images that are taken and the data that will be stored in the system in advance and which are the learning background of the system. | Completed |
| | FutureEUAqua | 404125 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Future growth in sustainable, resilient and climate friendly organic and conventional European aquaculture — FutureEUAqua | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2018-11-01 | 2022-10-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish quality and safety, Aquaculture Genetics | Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Kriton Grigorakis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis, Morgane Henry, Georgios Pirenis | https://futureeuaqua.eu/ | The overall objective of FutureEUAqua is to effectively promote sustainable growth of resilient to climate changes, environmental friendly organic and conventional aquaculture of major fish species and low trophic level organisms in Europe, to meet future challenges with respect to the growing consumer demand for high quality, nutritious and responsibly produced food. To this end, FutureEUAqua will promote innovations in the whole value chain, including genetic selection, ingredients and feeds, non-invasive monitoring technologies, innovative fish products and packaging methods, optimal production systems such as IMTA and RAS, taking into account socioeconomic considerations by the participation of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, training and dissemination activities. To achieve the objective and to relate to the work program, nine workpackages will contribute to improvements of future aquaculture. To ensure sustainable and resilient production of fish in the future we will work with tailor made fish and feed (WP1 and WP2), and validate fish performance and water quality in costeffective production systems (WP4). Consumer demand and awareness of how to choose sustainable and climate friendly seafood is part of WP3. With the increasing production of seafood, we face space-conflicts, which, in combination with the current regulatory frameworks will be considered (WP3). Wireless sensor technology (WP5) for health and welfare monitoring and novel technology for product quality and packaging (WP6) to meet future demands, will be implemented. Stakeholders' knowledge and views will be important, and communication, dissemination (WP8) as well as training sessions (WP7) will be emphasized. | Completed |
| | GREATER AMBERJACK | 185619 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Investigation of size variability in reared juveniles of greater amberjack towards improved production and husbandry practices (G.Amberjack) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-06-13 | 2021-06-12 | | Production technologies, Fish behaviour, Functional and Comparative genomics | Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Elena Sarropoulou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Stefanakis | | The objectives of the project is to reduce size variability in reared greater amberjack by applying appropriate rearing and husbandry practices. The selection of these practices will be based on the effect of factors known to induced individual variability and that will be studied during the course of the project. | Completed |
| | INSECTS FOR AQUA | 239255 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Exploitation of organic residues from the central Athens market (Central Market and Fishery Organizations - CMFO SA), for the production of insect larvae protein with the aim of reducing dependence of the fishmeal in the fish feed of seabream and sea bass | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-09-21 | 2021-09-20 | | | Ioannis Nengas, Stavros Chatzifotis | | The Project «Insects for Aqua» refers to the utilization of organic residues from the central market of Athens (Central Market and Fishery Organizations - CMFO SA) for the production of insect larva protein (insect meal) aiming to reduce dependence of the sea bream and sea bass fishmeal. Insects are now considered an innovative viable alternative source of protein for fish and can contribute to food security and the cyclical economy. The use of insect-meal in fish feed for farmed fish has recently been approved by the European Commission Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/893 of 24 May 2017. The main objective is to study the use of EU-authorized insect larvae such as Hermetia illucens and Tenebrio molitor in fish feed for farmed fish, investigating the effects on the development, the convertibility of fish feed and the immune preparedness of sea bream and seabass. At the same time, a plan for the utilization of organic wastes will be developed from the central markets controlled by CMFO. Only at CMFO 's facilities in Ag. Ioannis Renti, the amount of unused organic waste is about 3,300 tons a year. Organic residues of plant origin will be evaluated as insect larvae growth substrates and production protocols will be developed to integrate feed meal into fish feed. Insect-meal contain a large amount of high-quality protein, good amino acid composition, rich in certain essential amino acids, showing good digestibility.
The suitability of the produced insect meal and the degree of substitution of fishmeal in the ongrowing of sea bream and sea bass will be investigated with a view to achieving a balanced diet, good immunological readiness and satisfactory fish growth. At the same time, the conditions for optimal production of the two species of insects will be studied and will develop the processes of mass production of larval larvae. The project will make a holistic approach that focuses on the multilateral study of the responses of farmed animals and examine growth, nutrition physiology, metabolism, hematology, biochemical and immune responses as well as the quality of the final product. We will study the perceptions, beliefs and attitudes of consumers regarding the incorporation and use of insect-meal in commercial fish feeds and the development of different value propositions that will have the power to persuade consumers and can be persuasive about purchase of new products based on corresponding consumption benefits. Finally, a detailed technical and financial study will be carried out on the possibility of commercial production of insect meal for the substitution of fishmeal and an in-depth Business Plan for the exploitation of the results.
The aim of the Insects for Aqua Project is the thorough study of the utilization of unused organic residues from the Athens Central Market for the production of insect protein in order to reduce the dependence of seabream and bass from fishmeal. Organic waste from the Central Athens Market (CMFO) will be evaluated as larvae growth substrates for 2 species of insects, while insect meal production protocols will be developed for incorporation into fish feed at various percentages (5 to 30% substitution) and their evaluation as feed materials for sea bream and sea bass.
The rearing of organisms using insect flour is an innovative commercial activity for our country, mainly because there is no information in Greece about the new European legislative framework that supports it. However, in countries such as the Netherlands (with 30 insect farms), Germany, France and South Africa (where the largest breeders producer of insect protein is based), this farming process is already 40 years old. And the breeding of insects for animal feed or for human consumption in Asian countries has been measuring centuries. | Completed |
| | MOBILISE | 11400 | Vasilis Gerovasileiou | Vasilis Gerovasileiou | Mobilising Data, Experts and Policies in Scientific Collections (EU COST Action CA17106) | EU | COST | COST | 2018-10-02 | 2022-10-01 | | Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Christos Arvanitidis, George Tsamis, Irene Filiopoulou, Emmanouela Panteri | https://www.mobilise-action.eu/ | The EU COST Action CA17106 on “Mobilising Data, Experts and Policies in Scientific Collections” (MOBILISE) was officially launched back in October 2018 and will last for four years. The aim of MOBILISE is to build up a cooperative, inclusive, bottom-up and responsive network with active involvement of European stakeholders to support research for biodiversity and geodiversity informatics. Natural Science Collections in Europe host approximately 1.5 billion biological and geological collection objects, which represent about 80% of the known current and past bio- and geo-diversity on Earth. Accessing to and mobilising the data contained and the knowledge built thanks to those collections is at the core of MOBILISE Cost Action. Research data and the research community providing such priceless richness are pivotal to support, promote and foster scientific advances. MOBILISE will facilitate knowledge and technology transfer across stakeholders, bridging the gaps between biodiversity and geodiversity research and information technology best practices. | Completed |
| | PREGO | 155000 | Evangelos Pafilis | Evangelos Pafilis | PREGO text mining and data integration to elucidate ecosystem functioning : associating organisms and environments with biogeochemical and anthropogenic impact processes | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2018-07-13 | 2021-07-12 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Haris Zafeiropoulos, Savvas Paragkamian | http://prego.hcmr.gr/ | Process, environment, organism (PREGO) is a systems-biology approach to elucidate ecosystem function at the microbial dimension. Large-scale text-mining, data-mining, and network analysis are combined to this end.
To understand key functions of ecosystems it is fundamental to study what biogeochemical processes, occur in which environments (where), and which organisms carry them out (who).
Microbiology, molecular ecology and biodiversity address the above. Phylogenetic marker gene analyses aim at deciphering the community composition of environmental samples. Sequence analysis pipelines assemble, cluster, and characterize environmental DNA, RNA, and protein sequences to infer community composition and to assign functions. Standards-compliant, expert-assigned, metadata annotations (like isolation source) provide valuable input too. Importantly, pieces of information missing from an experiment’s data record metadata, or stored in fragmented computational analysis results, may be described in the accompanying literature. Thus, although valuable researcher input exists, it may just lie buried in free-text.
What-where-who associations, not observable previously, could become apparent once hidden evidence and fragmented data are all brought together. Thus, added value could be gained by combining the output of a range of existing computational analysis tools with expert-curated evidence, and automatically extracted facts of interest hidden in the vast body of biology literature. This is the motivation of PREGO, a one-stop-shop for researchers interested in searching and visually exploring such what-where-who associations. | Completed |
| | RADIO | 200000 | Frédéric Verret | Frédéric Verret | RNA Silencing in Diatoms | Greece | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | HFRI (ΕΛΙΔΕΚ) | 2018-07-13 | 2022-01-12 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Georgios Kotoulas, Melanthia (Melina) Stavroulaki | http://rna-silencingindiatoms.site/ | | Completed |
| | Smart Cages | 197959 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Application of Smart Systems for enhanced fish management and welfare in cage aquaculture | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-06-13 | 2020-06-12 | | Production technologies, Fish health, Fish behaviour | Pantelis Katharios, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Maria Ioanna Tsertou | | The project's objective is the development of smart systems that facilitate the management of an aquaculture unit and contribute to the timely detection of problems directly affecting the fish welfare and growth. The project targets to reduce human presence during production, in order to enable the installation of the cages in off-shore locations. | Completed |
| | VIOAXIOPIO-ΒΙΟΑΞΙΟΠΟΙΩ | 206599 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Production of high quality and added value biomolecules utilizing fishery by-products and discards | Greece | EPAnEK Aquaculture | EPAnEK Aquaculture | 2018-07-31 | 2021-07-30 | | | George Triantaphyllidis, Vasiliki Ilia | http://www.vioaxiopoio.gr/ | VIOAXIOPIO project aims at the exploitation of fish by-products and discards (FBPD), which currently are thrown away through the current supply chain (handling, marketing and processing), towards the production of high added value biomolecules (HAVB), such as gelatine, various forms of collagen, unsaturated fatty acids and minerals-trace elements.
The objectives of the Project include:
1. Designing and developing a network for the collection, handling, maintenance and transfer of raw material FBPD from the fish auction as well as the various fish resale points (central fish markets, super markets, fish markets, open markets) to selected collection points and processing facilities of OKAA.
2. The creation of practical solutions for the separation and proper storage of FBPD according to the category of HAVB to be produced.
3. The development of protocols, adapted to Greek species of FBPD, for production of HAVB (gelatine, hydrolyzed collagen, collagen peptides, fatty acids and minerals-trace elements).
4. The elaboration of an integrated National Business Plan for the exploitation of all raw materials from FBPD by OKAA.
The above objectives are intended to add value to each kilogram of harvested and later discarded fish biomass and to apply practices that have been already applied in several European countries, following adaptation to Greek conditions (species, way of transport, legislation, etc.).
The circular economy model offers a new chance of innovation and integration between natural ecosystems, businesses, quality of human life, and waste management.
| Completed |
| | iFishlENCi | 356291 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Intelligent Fish feeding through Integration of ENabling technologies and Circular principle | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2018-11-01 | 2022-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies | Stavros Chatzifotis, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Dimitra Georgopoulou, Orestis Stavrakidis-Zachou | https://ifishienci.eu | iFishIENCi develops innovations supporting sustainable aquaculture, based on enabling technologies and circular principles. This task will be achieved by providing to the market the iFishIENCi Biology Online Steering System (iBOSS) that significantly improves production control and management for all fish aquaculture systems. iBOSS will maximise feed utilisation through smart feeding, provide continuous monitoring of fish behaviour, health and welfare and reduce response times to aberrations. iFishIENCi will target circular principles and zero waste by qualifying new and sustainable organic value chains for feeds, and valorisation of by-products. | Completed |
| | ΜΑΓΙΑΤΙΚΟ | 251443 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Βελτιστοποίησης της παραγωγής μαγιάτικου (Seriola dumerilli) με αξιοποίηση καινοτόμου διατροφικής διαχείρισης | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2018-09-21 | 2021-09-20 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health | Ioannis Nengas, Dimitra Kogianou, Antigoni Vasilaki, Chrisanthi Nikoloudaki, Eleni Fountoulaki | https://amberjack.gr/ | The project aims to evaluate innovative semimoist feeds which will accelerate the production of amberjack by more effective feeding conversion and thus less environmental pollution. Moreover, the design of medicated diets in order to replace baths with chemicals and effectively confront important parasitic infections (monogeneans) was included in the goals of the project. | Completed |
| | ASSEMBLE Plus | 437882 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | Association of European Marine Biological Laboratories Expanded | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2017-01-01 | 2021-09-30 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Panagiotis Kasapidis, Georgios Kotoulas, Elena Sarropoulou, Thanos Dailianis, Christina Pavloudi, Vasilis Gerovasileiou | http://www.assembleplus.eu/ | ASSEMBLE Plus will provide scientists from academia, industry and policy with a quality-assured programme of Transnational Access (TA) and Virtual Access (VA) to marine biological stations offering a wide variety of marine ecosystems, unique marine biological resources, state-of-the-art experimental and analytical facilities with integrated workflows, historical observation data, and advanced training opportunities. The goal is to stimulate European excellence in fundamental and applied research in marine biology and ecology focusing on modern –omics approaches, thereby improving our knowledge and technology-base for the blue economy, policy and education. ASSEMBLE Plus brings together 33 marine stations and institutes with modern research infrastructure and track-records of unique service provision from 14 European and associated countries under the leadership of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC), an ESFRI consortium developed from the previous ASSEMBLE (FP7) partnership. Joint Research Activities involving all partners aim to develop innovative new technologies and/or methodologies to be offered to users through the TA and VA programmes. A coherent series of Networking Activities (NAs) will strengthen the culture of cooperation within and beyond the consortium, providing benchmarks for refined practices of service provision, disseminating interoperable protocols, engaging with novel user communities, and sharing insights into business strategies. The sum of the actions envisaged in ASSEMBLE Plus will ultimately increase the number of users of marine biological stations and shape novel strategic development perspectives, to be based on effective integration and efficient complementarities, resulting in a key contribution to their long-term sustainability. | Completed |
| | BIOIMAGING-GR | 179142 | Niki Keklikoglou | Niki Keklikoglou | A Greek Research Infrastructure for Visualizing and Monitoring Fundamental Biological Processes (BIOIMAGING-GR) | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2017-11-30 | 2021-10-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Christos Arvanitidis, Antonios Magoulas, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Katerina Vasiliadou, Irene Filiopoulou, Dimitra Mavraki | under development | BioImaging-GR is a national Research Infrastructure (RI), envisaged to provide state-of-the-art biological imaging tools and resources to the Greek biomedical community. BioImaging addresses issues of maximum interest not only for the scientific community but also for the society in general, mainly due to its momentous applications in Medicine (Molecular Medicine, Gene therapy, Drug and disease monitoring, among others). The pervasive importance of BioImaging is broadly appreciated and exemplified in the enthusiastic and robust support of Euro-BioImaging (http://www.eurobioimaging.eu/), one of ESFRI’s pan-European research infrastructures (RIs), by the European Biomedical community. BioImaging-GR is a national initiative with the aim of establishing a state of the art Biological Imaging infrastructure in Greece that will serve the Biomedical Research community in Greece and neighbouring countries. | Completed |
| | C3S European Fisheries | 70585 | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Eva Chatzinikolaou | Copernicus Climate Change Marine, Coastal and Fisheries Sectoral Information System | Others | ECMWF/COPERNICUS | ECMWF/COPERNICUS | 2017-11-01 | 2019-10-30 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis | https://climate.copernicus.eu/marine-coastal-and-fisheries-project | The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) is one of the six Copernicus services and was established to provide data and information for monitoring and predicting climate change. This project created a set of European-focused services for C3S concerning the marine, fisheries and coastal sectors, aiming to improve the climate-proofing of Marine Spatial Planning in European Seas. The outcomes of the project will be used to support stakeholders for the analysis of climate change adaption strategies in the following specific areas: a) Coastal Eutrophication, b) Fisheries / Aquaculture, c) Marine Spatial Planning, and d) Natural Capital Accounting. Model outputs from the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) were used to create a series of Climate Impact Indicators (CIIs) concerning the marine environment. These indicators are provided as an advisory service for Marine Spatial Planning through an organised platform in order to offer high impact solutions to engaged stakeholders, policy-makers, regulators, international entities, and fisheries & aquaculture companies. | Completed |
| | ELIXIR-GR | 167625 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | The Hellenic Research Infrastructure for data management and analysis in Biosciences | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2017-11-30 | 2020-11-29 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity | Antonios Magoulas, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Christos Arvanitidis, Elena Sarropoulou, Paraskevi Polymenakou, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Pantelis Katharios, Evangelos Pafilis, Manolis Mandalakis, Thanos Dailianis, Tereza Manousaki, Georgia Sarafidou, Stelios Ninidakis, Haris Zafeiropoulos, Anastasia Gioti | https://www.elixir-greece.org/ |
ELIXIR-GR is the Greek National Node of the ESFRI European RI ELIXIR, a distributed e-Infrastructure aiming at the construction of a sustainable European infrastructure for biological information. ELIXIR-GR supports life-science research and its translation to medicine, biological sciences and society. It offers a catalogue of tools, services and benchmarks, ensuring best practices as well as sustainability and interoperability with other biological and medical science infrastructures (https://www.elixir-greece.org)
IMBBC/HCMR in the context of the national infrastructure ELIXIR-GR, will coordinate and support the development of tools and methods of bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics and computational biology in the realm of marine biological research. Its participation comprises two main directions:
(1) The Marine-omics joint research activity is a funded Pilot action of ELIXIR-GR that aims at strengthening the analysis of marine ecosystem -omics data by providing researchers with essential bioinformatics support. To this end, the Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture at HCMR, which has a strong -omics research component (environmental sequencing with metabarcoding & metagenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, phylogenomics), has joined efforts with a number of Institutes. These include the Hellenic Pasteur Institute (HPI), experienced in transcriptomics, especially non-coding RNA prediction and analysis methods, and the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (FORTH/ICE-HT), with expertise in metabolomics and systems biology. The joint research action is focused on:
(a) Evaluation of pipelines and methods for analysis of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data from non-model marine οrganisms (b) Description of the bioinformatics landscape (practices, needs, strategies) relevant to -omics research on non-model organisms. (2) the MicroCT virtual laboratory (LifeWatchGreece infrastructure), a web based gallery of 3D specimens, is an additional resource for future integration of phenomics data into the wealth of sequencing data available (https://microct.portal.lifewatchgreece.eu/). The MicroCT vLab, through digitization of marine data collections, offers unique expertise in both Greece and Europe. Aim of this effort is to outreach and disseminate the MicroCT activities within the ELIXIR-GREECE and ELIXIR-EUROPE communities (supported also by ad-hoc developed Application Programming Interface (API))
Web Site URLs
https://www.elixir-greece.org/
https://www.elixir-greece.org/el
https://www.elixir-greece.org/node/152 ELIXIR-Greece - ΙΘΑΒΒΥΚ - ΕΛΚΕΘΕ - microCT Ελληνικά
https://www.elixir-greece.org/node/78 ELIXIR-Greece - ΙΘΑΒΒΥΚ - ΕΛΚΕΘΕ - microCT Αγγλικά
https://www.elixir-greece.org/node/98 ELIXIR-Greece - ΙΘΑΒΒΥΚ - ΕΛΚΕΘΕ - Πιλοτική δραστηριότητα Θαλάσσιας Ομικής Βιολογίας
https://www.elixir-greece.org/node/86 ELIXIR-Greece - ΙΘΑΒΒΥΚ - ΕΛΚΕΘΕ - Marine Omics Pilot Action | Completed |
| | EMODnet Biology 3 | 130000 | Vasilis Gerovasileiou | Vasilis Gerovasileiou | EMODnet Biology 3 | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2017-04-19 | 2021-04-18 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Christos Arvanitidis, Costas Dounas (retired), Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Dimitra Mavraki, Stamatina Nikolopoulou, Georgia Sarafidou | https://www.emodnet-biology.eu/ | EMODnet is a long-term marine data initiative spanning seven broad disciplinary themes: bathymetry, geology, physics, chemistry, biology, seafloor habitats and human activities. The EMODnet Central Portal allows users to access data products from each of these lots under one single interface. The EMODnet biology data portal provides free access to data on temporal and spatial distribution of marine species and species traits from all European regional seas. EMODnet Biology is part of the EU funded European Marine Observation and Data Network and is built upon the World Register of Marine Species and the European Ocean Biogeographic Information System.
Within EMODnet Biology, the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research leads Work Package 3 “Data archaeology and rescue”. The overall objective of this WP is to continue filling the spatial and temporal gaps in species occurrences and associated biotic and/or abiotic measurements and make the rescued historical data available through the EMODnet portal, using the same common methodologies and making these data interoperable with the large biological data holdings, which are identified in WP2. Priority will be given to the data that combine both biological and environmental records. This process requires the implementation of a long-term data archaeology and rescue strategy to ensure the continuous flow of such data in the EMODnet platform. The focus of the WP will be the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but it will also expand to other regional European Seas, where appropriate and considering the specific needs raised by WP4. In the renewal period, special attention will be paid to established scientific networks on marine biodiversity which hold many old data sets in their premises. | Completed |
| | GHaNA | 91300 | Frédéric Verret | Frédéric Verret | The Genus Haslea, New marine resources for blue biotechnology and Aquaculture — GHaN | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2017-03-01 | 2022-08-31 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Georgios Kotoulas, Jon Bent Kristoffersen | http://ghana.univ-lemans.fr/en/index.html | | Completed |
| | IMTA - EFFECT | 65441 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture for EFFiciency and Environmental Conservation | Greece | ERANET | ERANET | 2017-10-10 | 2021-04-09 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Georgios Pirenis, Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Morgane Henry, Manto Kotsiri | https://www6.inrae.fr/imta-effect/ | The project aims to develop IMTA strategies for fish farmers to develop new production systems being efficient, economically attractive, robust, and environmentally friendly. For this purpose, the project points to provide scientific references on the nutrient and energy efficiency gains generated by associating different aquatic species of different levels in the food web. Two basic production systems with various forms will be studied: multi-trophic marine systems and freshwater polyculture systems. These systems are divided into two modalities: 1- species reared separately in different structures permitting a precise measurement of each species activities and role in nutrient and energy cycling, 2- Species reared all together in the same structure, showing an overall result of species interactions. These two modalities will be used to develop and calibrate bio-energetic and bio-physic models. These different case studies will permit to understand the functioning and the efficiency of each compartment of the systems, and their interactions in the different contexts. | Completed |
| | MARINALGAE4AQUA | 40000 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Utilization of phytoplankton as a component of fish feed for the improvement of production and quality of aquaculture products | Greece | ERANET | ERANET | 2017-10-10 | 2020-05-31 | | | George Triantaphyllidis, Vasiliki Ilia | | MARINALGAE4aqua is an innovative research project that targets the development of strategies to increase efficiency of important European farmed fish species (Atlantic salmon and European sea bass) and reduce the environmental impact using micro- & macro-algal biomass as feed ingredients by:
I. Culturing marine algae under optimized technological processes to remove organic compounds and minerals from fish farm effluents, and producing high value products for aquafeeds while recycling nutrients; thus, improving the water body quality and reducing the environmental impact.
II. Identifying novel feed additives to improve fish digestive capacity and nutrient metabolism upon using the selected algae.
III. Improving fish growth and end product quality, reducing time to slaughter and providing a
safe and healthy food item with wide consumer acceptance.
MARINALGAE4aqua aims to tackle the sustainability challenges of the aquafeed industry by developing cost-effective and resource-efficient alternatives to FM and FO by providing: a) efficient new processes to valorise selected marine algae that could reduce EU imports of protein and lipid sources and minimize over-exploitation of wild fish stocks, loss of biodiversity and environmental burden and b) high sensory quality, acceptable fish products that meet food safety standards and dietary needs for a healthy life.
IMBBC-HCMR will be involved in growth trials with European sea bass utilizing the microalgae biomass produced by the other partners investigating its potential use as a fish-feed ingredient. The selected microalgae species will be analyzed in IMBBC-HCMR for proximate composition (crude protein, fat, moisture and ash), pigments, amino acids and fatty acids profiles in order to investigate the potential use as an ingredient in the feeds of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) substituting dietary fish meal. Growth trials will be performed and zootechnical parameters (specific growth rate, food conversion ratio, daily feed consumption) will be recorded and tissue samples will be collected for further analysis. The in vivo apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of nutrients of the tested diets will then be evaluated adopting the indirect method utilizing an external indigestible marker according to NRC. | Completed |
| | MOUNT | 944800 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | MOdern UNifying Trends in marine biology | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2017-10-19 | 2021-10-18 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish health, Biomarkers and Bioassays, Fish quality and safety, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography, Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Georgios Kotoulas, Costas Dounas (retired), Christos Arvanitidis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Elena Sarropoulou, Constantinos Mylonas, Pantelis Katharios, Nikos Papandroulakis, Stavros Chatzifotis, Aspasia Sterioti, Paraskevi Polymenakou, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Darivianakis, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Dimitris Androulakis, Thanos Dailianis, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Dimitris Tsaparis, Maria Maidanou, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, George Rigos, Kriton Grigorakis, Morgane Henry, Jelena Radojicic, Manolis Mandalakis | https://mount.hcmr.gr/ | The project supports innovative research activities of IMBBC in the fields of 1) environmental and population genomics, 2) aquaculture and 3) platforms for the production, analysis, storage and dissemination of scientific data. | Completed |
| | MedAID | 531000 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Mediterranean Aquaculture Integrated Development | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2017-05-01 | 2021-04-30 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Functional and Comparative genomics | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Stavros Chatzifotis, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis, Elena Sarropoulou, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Elisavet Kaitetzidou | http://www.medaid-h2020.eu/ | The goal of MedAID is to increase the overall competitiveness and sustainability of the Mediterranean marine fish-farming sector, throughout the whole value chain. | Completed |
| | Med_Units | 236782 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Study on Advancing fisheries assessment and management advice in the Mediterranean and Black Sea by aligning biological and management units of priority species | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2017-12-20 | 2021-01-02 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Marine biodiversity | Tereza Manousaki, Alexandros Tsakogiannis, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Dimitris Tsaparis | | The ultimate objective of the study is to identify and match the biological with the management stock units of several of the most important demersal species in the Mediterranean, included also among the priority species at GFCM level. Target species are: European hake (Merluccius merluccius), red mullet (Mullus barbatus), deep water rose shrimp (Parapenaeus longirostris), giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea), blue and red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus), Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus).
Following the request of services the study will cover the priority fish stocks reported in the objectives of the project in waters of the Geographical Sub-Areas (GSAs) 1-27 (Mediterranean Sea).
| Completed |
| | PERFORMFISH | 976502 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Consumer driven Production: Integrating Innovative Approaches for Competitive and Sustainable Performance across the Mediterranean Aquaculture Value Chain | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2017-05-01 | 2022-04-30 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish health, Fish behaviour, Biomarkers and Bioassays, Fish quality and safety, Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography, Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Costas Tsigenopoulos, Eleni Fountoulaki, Ioannis Nengas, George Rigos, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Stelios Stefanakis, Evsevia Sfakaki, Michail Asderis, Nikolaos Mitrizakis, Dimitrios Voskakis, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Morgane Henry, Kriton Grigorakis | http://www.proaqua.dk/ | PerformFISH brings together a representative multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary consortium to generate, validate and apply new knowledge in real farming conditions to substantially improve the management and performance of the focal fish species, measured through Key Performance Indicators. | Completed |
| | RECONNECT | 356421 | Christina Pavloudi | Christina Pavloudi | Regional cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development | Others | INTERREG | INTERREG | 2017-09-15 | 2020-06-14 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Niki Keklikoglou, Vasso Terzoglou, Wanda Plaiti, Stamatina Nikolopoulou, Haris Zafeiropoulos, Dimitris Tsaparis, Katerina Vasiliadou, Christos Arvanitidis, Georgia Sarafidou, Emmanouela Panteri | https://reconnect.hcmr.gr/ |
Regional cooperation for the transnational ecosystem sustainable development (RECONNECT) project aims to develop strategies for sustainable management of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Natura 2000 sites. The study areas are characterised by similar habitats in different countries, which are threatened by common pressures. Creating a transnational cooperative network to confront under a common approach the environmental threats of ecosystems with a high natural and cultural interest, is the overall goal of this project. The establishment of common practices and a joint regional strategy are the main challenges of RECONNECT. The overall objective of the project is to promote efficient management of natural systems which will enhance the competence of local management authorities through the development of a multidisciplinary Decision Support System (DSS). The new transnational holistic approach which will be developed, will change the current protection strategies in the Balkan-Mediterranean area promoting more efficient and accurate management practices. The main outputs of the RECONNECT project will provide information concerning habitat attributes, as well as the essential biodiversity, socio-economic and cultural variables, which will be freely available as tools through a web-based platform.
These outputs will be beneficial for
local, regional and national authorities by promoting the sustainability of marine ecosystems;
management agencies by enhancing their management toolbox;
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by improving their activities through the suggested strategies; and
citizens, as their involvement during the project will increase their environmental awareness.
The transnational approach that will be used during the project will combine ecological and genetic methodologies for the biodiversity assessment, as well as socio-economic aspects, under the umbrella of a common DSS promoting joint policies and practices. The protection and conservation of areas with high ecological and economical value aims to harmonize the socio-economic and legal framework between the participating countries, something which could not be achieved individually at a national level. The design of new tools such as the DSS and the Handbook of management practices will be developed through the combination of multidisciplinary methodologies targeting to evaluate ecosystem quality and to promote the sustainable conservation of these vulnerable and fragile ecosystems. During its implementation, RECONNECT project will address consistently EU horizontal principles such as sustainable development, equal opportunities and non-discrimination and equality between men and women.
| Completed |
| | RobustBass | 25000 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Advanced selective breeding for robustness, disease and stress resistance in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) through the use of Next Generation Sequencing techniques for genetic improvement | Greece | ERANET | ERANET | 2017-09-01 | 2020-08-13 | | Fish health, Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography | Tereza Manousaki, Alexandros Tsakogiannis | http://robustbass.hcmr.gr/ | The project aims at developing biotechnological tools to improve our understanding of the genomic basis for growth and robustness in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), one of the most intensively farmed teleost species in the Mediterranean. Particular concern will be granted to increase species resistance to diseases, namely vibriosis [Vibrio (Listonella) spp.], pasteurellosis [Photobacterium (Pasteurella) damselae subsp. piscicida] and Viral Nervous Necrosis (VNN) infection. A family based breeding program, running high quality disease challenge tests on siblings to breeding candidates, can improve resistance by selecting broodstock from genetically best families. Exposing breeding candidates directly to disease to identify superior individuals is not indicated, but genomic analysis can be applied to efficiently discriminate among breeding candidates from the same family that otherwise will be ranked equally if only using family values. Therefore, genetic improvement of European sea bass through advanced selective breeding and molecular tools is expected to reduce production cost in the long term while minimise production vulnerabilities and risk. In addition, the species shows high susceptibility to stress and displays high basal cortisol concentrations. Preliminary results showed that cortisol responsiveness was a repeated trait and fish with constantly Low (LR) or High (HR) resting and post-stress cortisol concentrations were identified. Interestingly, some quantitative trait loci (QTL) that influence cortisol concentrations seem to be located in the same genomic regions with QTL suggested having an effect on weight. Since stress is being considered as an important co-factor for reproductive dysfunctions and disease outbreaks in this species which in turn hampers production, we aim to investigate more deeply how stress response measured by cortisol level and weight/growth interfere in order to develop a promising selection index in future breeding programmes. Selection based on rigorous phenotype and genotype measurements for increased survival against pathogens and response to acute stress conditions is expected to lead to more robust future generations in the European sea bass populations. | Completed |
| | SPELMED | 10966 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Evaluation of the population status and specific management alternatives for the small pelagic fish stocks in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2017-12-20 | 2019-12-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Marine biodiversity | Panagiotis Kasapidis, Tereza Manousaki | | The ultimate objective of the study is the evaluation of the population status of Sardina pilchardus (European sardine) and Engraulis encrasicolus (European anchovy) in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea, based on the generation of key biological and ecological information to support robust management options in the area. The study has three specific objectives: 1. Revision of biological information for both stocks 2. Revision of the ecological and fisheries information 3. Proposal and assessment of fisheries management measures The study will cover the Geographical Sub-Areas (GSAs) 6 – Northern Spain and 7 – Gulf of Lions, and will be focused on Sardina pilchardus (European sardine) and Engraulis encrasicolus (European anchovy) stocks, without forgetting the marine ecosystem and the mixed-fisheries interactions, in these areas | Completed |
| | CLIMEFISH | 178018 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Co-creating a decision support framework to ensure sustainable fish production in Europe under climate change | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2016-04-01 | 2020-03-31 | | | Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Orestis Stavrakidis-Zachou | https://climefish.eu/ | The overall goal of ClimeFish is to help ensure that the increase in seafood production comes in areas and for species where there is a potential for sustainable growth, given the expected developments in climate, thus contributing to robust employment and sustainable development of rural and coastal communities. | Completed |
| | DNAqua-Net | 0 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Developing new genetic tools for bioassessment of aquatic ecosystems in Europe | EU | COST | COST | 2016-10-01 | 2020-10-01 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity | Panagiotis Kasapidis | https://dnaqua.net/ | The goal of this Action is to nucleate a group of researchers across disciplines with the task to identify gold-standard genomic tools and novel ecogenomic indices for routine application for biodiversity assessments of European water bodies. Furthermore, DNAqua-Net will provide a platform for training of the next generation of European researchers preparing them for the new technologies | Completed |
| | METAG-NELLI | 0 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Metagenome Sequencing projects of NELLI proposal: Uncovering New Lineages of Life from Metagenomes | Others | USA | USA | 2016-01-01 | 2016-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology | | https://genome.jgi.doe.gov/portal/4SBtaG/4SBtaG.info.html | Metagenome Sequencing projects of NELLI proposal: Uncovering New Lineages of Life from Metagenomes. The following samples were processed for metagenomic sequening: 2SBTROV12_ACTIVE470_metaG, 2SBTROV14_V59a_metaG, 4SBTROV10_WHITE_metaG, 4SBTROV12_W25_metaG. Samples were collected from the extreme environments of submarine Kolumbo volcano. | Completed |
| | TAPAS | 144004 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Tools for Assessment and Planning of Aquaculture Sustainability | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2016-03-01 | 2020-02-29 | | Production technologies | Panagiotis Anastasiadis, | http://tapas-h2020.eu/ | Aquaculture is one of five sectors in the EU's Blue Growth Strategy, aimed at harnessing untapped potential for food production and jobs whilst focusing on environmental sustainability. TAPAS addresses this challenge by supporting member states to establish a coherent and efficient regulatory framework aimed at sustainable growth of aquaculture. | Completed |
| | AQUAEXCEL 2020 | 639986 | Stavros Chatzifotis | Stavros Chatzifotis | AQUAculture infrastructures for EXCELlence in European fish research towards 2020 | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2015-10-01 | 2020-09-30 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health | Nikos Papandroulakis, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Tereza Manousaki, Elena Sarropoulou, Lydia Katsika | https://www.aquaexcel2020.eu/ | AQUAEXCEL2020, a Horizon 2020 research infrastructure project, aims to support the sustainable growth of the aquaculture sector in Europe. AQUAEXCEL2020 comprises a large group of leading European aquaculture research facilities that work towards advanced integration and standardisation of tools for aquaculture research, and aims to offer services tailored to the needs of the European aquaculture community and support and conduct world-class aquaculture research. Similar to the forerunner project AQUAEXCEL (2011-2015), one of the key aspects of AQUAEXCEL2020 is to provide subsidised access to its top-class aquaculture facilities as well as numerous highly pertinent services for researchers from academia and industry. AQUAEXCEL2020 will also provide training for transnational access users, aquaculture researchers, technical staff and industry stakeholders. | Completed |
| | EMBRIC | 321631 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | European Marine Biological Research Infrastructure Cluster to promote the Blue Bioeconomy | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2015-06-01 | 2019-12-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Elena Sarropoulou, Georgios Kotoulas, Dimitris Tsaparis, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Jelena Radojicic | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/198465/factsheet/en , | EMBRIC is a cluster environment of European RIs, to enable sector-specific pipelines and a workgroup to improve technology transfer practices. It is designed to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and innovation from marine Bio-Resources. EMBRIC aims to promote new applications derived from marine organisms in fields such as drug discovery, novel foods and food ingredients, aquaculture selective breeding, bioremediation, cosmetics and bioenergy. | Completed |
| | FAANG-Europe | 0 | Elena Sarropoulou | Elena Sarropoulou | Functional Annotation of Animal Genomes - European Network | EU | COST | COST | 2015-05-01 | 2019-09-01 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Costas Tsigenopoulos | http://www.faang-europe.org/ | Improve the functional annotation of animal genomes in order to facilitate efforts to bridge the gap between genotype and phenotype, thus enabling predictive biology | Completed |
| | JERICO NEXT | 109750 | Christina Pavloudi | Christina Pavloudi | Joint European Research Infrastructure network for Coastal Observatory – Novel European eXpertise for coastal observaTories | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2015-09-01 | 2019-09-30 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Niki Keklikoglou, Wanda Plaiti, Katerina Vasiliadou, Christos Arvanitidis | http://www.jerico-ri.eu/ | The coastal area is the most productive and dynamic environment of the world ocean with significant resources and services for mankind. JERICO-NEXT emphasizes that the complexity of the coastal ocean cannot be well understood if interconnection between physics, biogeochemistry and biology is not guaranteed. Such an integration requires new technological developments allowing continuous monitoring of a larger set of parameters.
Our vision is to improve and innovate the cooperation in coastal observatories in Europe by implementing the coastal part of a European Ocean Observing System, to cooperate with other European initiatives as ESFRI (EURO-ARGO, EMSO, EMBRC), Integrated Infrastructures (FIXO3, …), OCEAN OF TOMORROW sensors innovation project (SenseOCEAN, NEXOS), the emerging European biological network (EMBRC) and EMODnet to contribute to provide services to the research community and the society.
In the continuity of JERICO (FP7), the objective of JERICO-NEXT consists in strengthening and enlarging a solid and transparent European network in providing operational services for the timely, continuous and sustainable delivery of high quality environmental data and information products related to marine environment in European coastal seas.
Other objectives are: Support European coastal research communities, enable free and open access to data, enhance the readiness of new observing platform networks by increasing the performance of sensors, showcase of the adequacy of the so-developed observing technologies and strategies, propose a medium-term roadmap for coastal observatories through a permanent dialogue with stakeholders. | Completed |
| | PARAFISHCONTROL | 293045 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Advanced Tools and Research Strategies for Parasite Control in European farmed fish. | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2015-04-01 | 2020-03-31 | | Fish health | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Morgane Henry, Chrisanthi Nikoloudaki, Georgios Pirenis, Pantelis Katharios, Constantina Kokkari, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Tereza Manousaki | http://www.parafishcontrol.eu/ | The overarching goal of ParaFishControl was to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of the European Aquaculture industry by improving our understanding of fish-parasite interactions and by developing innovative solutions and tools for the prevention, control and mitigation of the major parasitic pathogens affecting the main European farmed fish species: Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, common carp, turbot European sea bass and gilthead sea bream. The project addresses the most harmful parasitic species affecting either one or more of these six fish hosts. These parasites belong to nine different groups: crustaceans, monogeneans, myxozoans, microsporidians, cilliates, dinoflagellates, amoebae, oomycetes, and zoonotic helminths.
| Completed |
| | PP2EMBRC | 109000 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | European Marine Biology Resource Centre preparatory phase 2 — pp2EMBRC | EU | EU H2020 | EU H2020 | 2015-10-01 | 2019-05-31 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Georgios Kotoulas, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Elena Sarropoulou, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Dounas (retired), Jelena Radojicic | | | Completed |
| | FISHBOOST | 180539 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Improving European aquaculture by advancing selective breeding to the next level for the six main finfish species | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2014-02-01 | 2019-12-15 | | Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography | Georgios Kotoulas, Tereza Manousaki, George Rigos, Kriton Grigorakis, Nikos Papandroulakis | http://www.fishboost.eu/ | Only about 10% of today’s global aquaculture production use genetically improved stocks. In Europe, some breeding programmes consist of only the basic components of a breeding scheme. Hence, there is large potential to increase efficiency and profit by domestication and genetic improvement of farmed finfish. The main challenge of FISHBOOST is to realise this potential into economic and social acceptable breeding schemes, and advance these for each of the six target species. Acknowledging the different capacities of the species, the aim of FISHBOOST is: To improve the efficiency and profitability of European aquaculture by advancing selective breeding to the next level for each of the six main finfish species through collaborative research with industry. FISHBOOST considers the main components of breeding programmes for Atlantic salmon, common carp, European seabass, gilthead seabream, rainbow trout and turbot. Disease resistance and production efficiency are genetically improved through detailed phenotyping and advanced genomic technologies. The economic impact and producers’ perceptions will be assessed for the recommendations for each of the species. 14 well-recognised RTD participants in Europe on aquaculture breeding will collaborate in a five year comprehensive research project with 7 SMEs, 4 large industries and 1 NGO throughout Europe that are in the lead of the development of their species’ breeding programmes or are vectors between industry and RTD. A mixture of low and high-tech technological advances depending on current capacities of the species will be developed to move each species’ breeding program to the next level. This step-change advance will facilitate balanced and sustainable breeding programmes applying a wide set of traits, breeding tools and technologies. A dissemination program will deliver these results to SMEs and other end-users, thereby advancing existing and stimulating new aquaculture breeding programmes in Europe | Completed |
| | MetaCopepod | 180000 | Panagiotis Kasapidis | Panagiotis Kasapidis | Designing an integrated DNA metabarcoding and image analysis approach to study and monitor biodiversity of zooplanktonic copepods | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2014-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Environmental genomics, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Tereza Manousaki, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Vasso Terzoglou | | The aim of the 'MetaCopepod' project was to develop a novel methodology, based on the combination of next generation sequencing technologies and image analysis, to assess and monitor the biodiversity of marine zooplanktonic copepods (and cladocera), in a fast, high-throughput, reliable and quantitative way. | Completed |
| | CIGESMED | 185000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Coralligenous based indicators to evaluate and monitor the "Good Ecological Status" of the Mediterranean coastal waters | Greece | ERANET | ERANET | 2013-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Thanos Dailianis, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Elena Sarropoulou, Costas Dounas (retired), Christina Pavloudi, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Irene Filiopoulou, Emmanouela Panteri | http://www.cigesmed.eu/ | CIGESMED’s goal is to understand the links between natural and anthropogenic pressures and ecosystem functioning to define and maintain the Good Environmental Status (GES) of the Mediterranean Sea, by studying the typical, complex and not well known habitats built by calcareous encrusting algea, the coralligenous. An integrated approach of complexity of coralligen will permit to mutualize and visualize large data collections, and manage knowledge to study ecosystems. Indicators, from communities to infra-specific level (DNA), will be co-constructed and tested by scientists, marine natural parks and reserves, and through the implementation of a “citizen science” network. The use of trees of knowledge as tools to sort, organize and illustrate very large heterogeneous sets of data will constitute an original approach. The outcome will be an integrative assessment of the GES within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. CIGESMED gathers scientists from France, Greece and Turkey, making it possible to access to sites and to work on the same issues in both the northwestern Mediterranean basin and the Aegean-Levantine one. Ten laboratories of marine ecology are involved. It will also involve observers from other Mediterranean countries. | Completed |
| | DIVERSIFY | 1758512 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Enhancing the European aquaculture production by removing production bottlenecks of emerging species, producing new products and accessing new markets | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2013-12-01 | 2018-11-30 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish health, Fish behaviour, Fish quality and safety, Aquaculture Genetics, Functional and Comparative genomics | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Stavros Chatzifotis, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis, Elena Sarropoulou, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Kriton Grigorakis, Eleni Fountoulaki, Pantelis Katharios, Ioannis Papadakis, Ioannis Fakriadis, George Rigos, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Dimitris Tsaparis, Nikos Papandroulakis | https://www.diversifyfish.eu/ |
The project DIVERSIFY has identified a number of new/emerging finfish species, with a great potential for the expansion of the EU aquaculture industry. These species are fast growing and/or large finfishes marketed at a large size and can be processed into a range of products to provide the consumer with both a greater diversity of fish species and new value-added products. The fish species to be studied include meagre (Argyrosomus regius) and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) for warm-water marine cage culture, wreckfish (Polyprion americanus) for warm- and cool-water marine cage culture, Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) for marine cold-water culture, grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) a euryhaline herbivore for pond/extensive culture, and pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) for freshwater intensive culture using recirculating systems. In collaboration with the SMEs and/or Large Enterprises, DIVERSIFY will build on recent/current national initiatives for species diversification in aquaculture, in order to overcome the documented bottlenecks in the production of these species. Research will be carried out in the scientific disciplines of Reproduction and Genetics, Nutrition, Larval husbandry, Grow out husbandry, Fish health and Socioeconomics (including final product quality).
| Completed |
| | FISHANTIMICROBIALS | 235000 | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | Use of Antimicrobials for the prevention and treatment of common diseases of cultured fish in Greece and evaluation of their efficiency and safety | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2013-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | | | The overall objectives of the project were: 1. to develop validated methods for the determination of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, sulfadiazine and trimethoprim and oxytetracycline in fish tissues, 2. to study the residues depletion and estimation of withdrawal times for each of the above antibiotics, 3. to investigate the impact of essential oils on the growing rates of sea bass and sea bream and of the impact of essential oils on parasite (mainly Microcotyle sp.) prevalence in sea bream, 4. to study the impact of antibiotics on the experimental infection with L. anguillarum and Myxobacteria sp. and of the impact of essential oils on the experimental infection with L. anguillarum and Myxobacteria sp. in sea bass and 5. to compare antibiotic and essential oil treatments on experimental infections of sea bass with L. anguillarum and Myxobacteria sp. | Completed |
| | KRIPIS | 1498965 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | Marine Biology, Biotechnology & Aquaculture | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2013-01-01 | 2015-10-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Biomarkers and Bioassays, Fish quality and safety | Constantinos Mylonas, Ioannis Fakriadis, Georgios Kotoulas, Costas Dounas (retired), Nikos Papandroulakis, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Elena Sarropoulou, Pantelis Katharios, Thanos Dailianis, Paraskevi Polymenakou, George Rigos, Stavros Chatzifotis, Aspasia Sterioti, Ioannis Papadakis, Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Maria Maidanou, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Darivianakis, Wanda Plaiti, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Stelios Ninidakis, George Tsamis, Stamatina Nikolopoulou, Antonis Potirakis, Dimitra Mavraki, Christina Pavloudi, Ioulia Santi, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Dimitris Tsaparis, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Melanthia (Melina) Stavroulaki, Jelena Radojicic, Harris Markomanolaki, Grigorios Skouradakis, Dimitris Androulakis, Dimitrios Voskakis, Irene Filiopoulou, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Ioannis Nengas, Kriton Grigorakis, Morgane Henry, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis, Eleni Fountoulaki, Evangelia Nanou | | The project supported innovative research activities of IMBBC in the fields of marine biology, biodiversity and aquaculture, and included the following ations: a) Study of marine biodiversity and ecosystem using modern genomics techniques (populations genomics of commercially importat fishes, holistic approach to study biodiversity in the Gulf of Heraklion), b) Development of basic and applied research programs in the Underwater Biotechnological Park of Crete (innovative research on artificial habitats and the creation of pilot Submarine Recreation Diving "Oases", experimental sponge culture of species of biotechnological interest), and c) Diversification of aquaculture production with a new fast-growing fish species, the Greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili) (Study of all critical aquaculture developmental phases: reproduction, nutrition, genomics, growth and product quality). | Completed |
| | PROAQUA | 113029 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | PROAQUA, Reducing antibiotic use in marine larviculture by a novel combinatory probiotic strategy | Others | Denmark | Denmark | 2013-04-01 | 2019-06-30 | | | Constantina Kokkari, George Rigos | http://www.proaqua.dk/ | | Completed |
| | SYNTHESYS 3 | 82654 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Synthesis of systematic resources | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2013-09-01 | 2017-08-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Niki Keklikoglou, Eva Chatzinikolaou | http://synthesys3.myspecies.info/ | This project has created an accessible, integrated European resource for researchers in the natural sciences in Europe and globally. Building on the success of the previous SYNTHESYS projects, the Network Activity focused on improving collections management of new physical and virtual collections. By focusing the Joint Research Activity on extracting and enhancing data from digitised collections, SYNTHESYS3 increased the accessibility of these 390 million natural history collections. A wide range of services and access – both physical and digital – were provided to a broad range of scientific users (from biological and geological related disciplines) in a consistent and accessible way. The natural history collections, held within the museums and herbaria of Europe, are world-class in terms of their magnitude and taxonomic coverage. They represent a unique resource in Europe as a model of the diversity of life on earth and are a physical dataset enabling users to research how the human activity (including climate change) is having an increasingly negative impact on the diversity and distribution of biodiversity, which is threatening the continued provision of ecosystem services essential to human well-being. | Completed |
| | Sampling and sediment analysis of the Heraklion Port | 15597 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Sampling and sediment analysis of the Heraklion Port | Others | Port Authority of Heraklion | Port Authority of Heraklion | 2013-12-16 | 2014-04-15 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Niki Keklikoglou, Thanos Dailianis | | A sampling campaign using the vessel FILIA was organised within the Port of Heraklion for the collection of sediment samples which were analysed regarding sedimentology, chemical parameters and pollutants (heavy metals, hydrocarbons, phenols, organic carbon, pH, conductivity, alkalinity, etc). The results of this study served as a reference evaluation survey necessary for the implementation of future dredging activities within the port area and the management of the removed core sediment samples. | Completed |
| | ΕMODnet Biology | 70000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | European Marine Observation and Data Network – Biology | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2013-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Christina Pavloudi | https://www.emodnet-biology.eu/ | EMODnet Biology contributes to the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) which is a consortium of organisations within Europe that assembles marine data, data products and metadata from diverse sources in a uniform way. The main purpose of EMODnet is to unlock fragmented and hidden marine data resources and to make these available to individuals and organisations (public and private), and to facilitate investment in sustainable coastal and offshore activities through improved access to quality-assured, standardised and harmonised marine data.
| Completed |
| | ANnOTATE | 180000 | Elena Sarropoulou | Elena Sarropoulou | ANalysis of multifunctiOnal genes and Their pAralogs in TEleost: Identification, Evolution and Annotation through Transcriptome scans and Functional studies | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2012-09-15 | 2015-09-15 | | Functional and Comparative genomics, Population genetics and phylogeography | Elisavet Kaitetzidou, Evangelos Pafilis | http://annotate.weebly.com/ | ANalysis of multifunctiOnal genes and Their pAralogs in TEleosts: Identification, Evolution and Annotation through Transcriptome scans and Functional studies. Aim of the present proposal is to identify, characterise and annotate new or known duplicated genes across teleost and non-teleost fish species, to search for their paralogs gene(s) and to examine the possibility of new gene families (if more then one paralogs is found). | Completed |
| | AQUAINNOVA | 10000 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Supporting governance multi-stakeholder participation in aquaculture research and innovation | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2012-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | Maria Alexi | | This project is an EU Programme (KBBE: SPI-Cooperation, Coordination and support action) aiming to encourage multi-stakeholder participation for research and inovelty in aquaculture sector | Completed |
| | ECONET | 12000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Fish fry recruiting devices (Research for innovative methods) | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2012-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | http://www.ecoreefs.gr/ | The project aims to meet the market demand for innovative products that could help the fishing industry to apply large scale fish protection programs using inexpensive materials. This will be achieved using synthetic materials and nets which are inexpensive materials, already used in the fishing industry, to construct a series of fish fry protecting devices. These smart devices will be used to protect juvenile fish in the most vulnerable phase of their life in order to help restore fish populations in a natural way through the decrease of the natural mortality. | Completed |
| | EUBON | 331698 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | EU BON: Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2012-12-01 | 2017-05-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Christina Pavloudi, Katerina Vasiliadou, Niki Keklikoglou, Thekla Anastasiou | http://eubon.eu/ | This project aimed to present an innovative approach towards integration of biodiversity information systems from on-ground to remote sensing data, for addressing policy and information needs in a timely and customized manner. EUBON provided integration between social networks of science and policy and technological networks of interoperating IT infrastructures, resulting in a new open-access platform for sharing biodiversity data and tools, and greatly advanced biodiversity knowledge in Europe. EUBON has 1) enabled greater interoperability of data layers and systems through adoption of new standards; 2) advanced data integration by new modelling technologies; 3) increased data mobilisation via scientific communities, citizen scientists, and potential data users; 4) developed strategies for future harmonizing and mainstreaming of biodiversity recording and monitoring; 5) improved analytical tools and services interpreting biodiversity data; 6) supported the science-policy interface by timely information and scenario development; 7) linked integrated, customized information to relevant stakeholders, and 8) strengthened overall European capacities and infrastructures for environmental information management. EUBON’s deliverables included a comprehensive “European Biodiversity Portal” for all stakeholder communities and supported the global implementation of GEO BON and IPBES. | Completed |
| | FISHPHAGE | 280000 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Biological control of bacteria in fish hatcheries using phages | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2012-01-01 | 2016-12-31 | | | Constantina Kokkari | fishphage.weebly.com | | Completed |
| | LifewatchGreece | 3700000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Greek Network for Biodiversity Research: Implementation and Operation of the National Research Infrastructure LifeWatch | Greece | EPAnEK | EPAnEK | 2012-11-29 | 2015-12-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Environmental genomics, Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Vasilis Gerovasileiou, Dimitra Mavraki, Stamatina Nikolopoulou, Niki Keklikoglou, Katerina Vasiliadou, Christina Pavloudi, Evangelos Pafilis, Irene Filiopoulou, Costas Dounas (retired), Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Irene Filiopoulou, Emmanouela Panteri | https://www.lifewatchgreece.eu/ | The overall objective of the project was to develop the Greek LifeWatch Research Infrastructure and to establish it as the biodiversity Centre of Excellence for South-eastern Europe. The project succeeded to: 1) ally all the Greek scientific human potential working on biodiversity data and data observatories, in the country and abroad; 2) pave the way for the development of complex virtual domains through a number of background e-Services which facilitate both the data contributors and users; 3) develop a number of virtual labs (vLabs) where large scale science can be carried out at all possible levels of the biological organization from molecules to ecosystems, which are available to scientists, environmental managers and policy makers; 4) build capacity at the national level through a network of activities, including human potential mobilization, supporting and promoting the use of the Infrastructure, and enhancing organizational development; and 5) disseminate information, scientific knowledge and experience gained to the public and to liaise the Network's ideas and practices to the activities of targeted groups and of the society at large. | Completed |
| | MICRO B3 | 90364 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2012-01-01 | 2014-12-31 | | | Antonios Magoulas, Christos Arvanitidis, Evangelos Pafilis, Paraskevi Polymenakou | http://www.microb3.eu/ | The EU 7FP project Micro B3 (Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) will develop innovative bioinformatic approaches and a legal framework to make large-scale data on marine viral, bacterial, archaeal and protists genomes and metagenomes accessible for marine ecosystems biology and to define new targets for biotechnological applications. Micro B3 will build upon a highly interdisciplinary consortium of 32 academic and industrial partners comprising world-leading experts in bioinformatics, computer science, biology, ecology, oceanography, bioprospecting and biotechnology, as well as legal aspects. Micro B3 is based on a strong user- and data basis from ongoing European sampling campaigns to long-term ecological research sites. | Completed |
| | SEABIOTECH | 514149 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | From sea-bed to test-bed: harvesting the potential of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2012-01-01 | 2016-12-31 | | | Antonios Magoulas, Manolis Mandalakis, Paraskevi Polymenakou | http://spider.science.strath.ac.uk/seabiotech/ | SeaBioTech is a 48-month project designed and driven by SMEs to create innovative marine biodiscovery
pipelines as a means to convert the potential of marine biotechnology into novel industrial products for
the pharmaceutical (human and aquaculture), cosmetic, functional food and industrial chemistry sectors. | Completed |
| | SYMBIOMICS | 41740 | Elena Sarropoulou | Elena Sarropoulou | Symbiotic bacteria and “omics” technologies towards the development of novel and environment-friendly control methods of insect pests: the case of the Mediterranean fruit fly | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2012-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | Panagiotis Kasapidis | | The Mediterranean fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) belongs to the Tephritidae family of Diptera and is the most polyphagous species of the genus with a wide geographical distribution. It grows on more than 350 hosts and is considered one of the most important entomological enemies of fruit trees worldwide. Its treatment is still based on the application of insecticides, although in recent decades, the accumulation of knowledge about the biology of the insect has led to the development of alternative treatment methods such as the Sterile Insect Technique. The Sterile Insect Technique is applied to combat the Mediterranean fly in regional, national, and international programs. Despite its widespread application, significant problems still exist regarding the effectiveness of this method. The main ones concern the survival, dispersal, and sexual competitiveness of sterile males released into the wild to deal with the target population. It should also be noted that recent studies support that symbiotic bacteria that respond to insects play a catalytic role in the biology, physiology, ecology, and evolution of their hosts. Based on the above, the necessity to treat the insect as a superorganism, i.e. the host and the symbiotic bacteria are to be "treated" as a single entity. Therefore, any (biological and non-biological) approaches to population control of the insect must be approached through systems biology. In particular, the present project will use -omic technologies to study the (meta)genome, transcriptome, and proteome of the insect. Also, it will be based on the knowledge of the biology of both the host and the symbiotic bacteria to develop and apply in semi-natural conditions new environmentally friendly methods of population control of C. capitata. The proposed approach can be a model for the development of similar methods for other harmful insect species for agriculture, the environment, and health. | Completed |
| | SparComp | 400000 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Comparative transcriptomics in four sparid species using next-generation sequencing and comparative mapping based on available genetic information from model fish species | Greece | NSRF Excellence | NSRF Excellence | 2012-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Functional and Comparative genomics | Georgios Kotoulas, Constantinos Mylonas, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Elena Sarropoulou, Tereza Manousaki | | The project aimed to report the functional annotation and comparative analyses of transcriptome data sets using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies for four recently reared sparids with high commercial interest but very limited sequence information available: the common sea bream (Pagrus pagrus), the sharpsnout sea bream (Diplodus puntazzo), the common Pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) and the common dentex (Dentex dentex). The spawning kinetics of the four sparids was monitored using microsatellite genotyping to determine the number of spawning events per female and male participation. Furthermore, a linkage map was generated for each species using F1 full-sib families coming from wild broodstock and the ddRAD sequencing methodology | Completed |
| | TROPOS | 187160 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Modular Multi-use Deep Water Offshore Platform Harnessing and Servicing Mediterranean, Subtropical and Tropical Marine and Maritime Resources | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2012-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | | http://www.troposplatform.eu/ | The key objective of the TROPOS project is the development of a floating modular multi-use platform system for use in deep waters, with an initial geographic focus on the Mediterranean, Tropical and Sub-Tropical regions but designed to be flexible enough not to be limited in geographic scope. The TROPOS approach is centered on the modular development where different types of modules can be combined as appropriate in each area. In this way, the TROPOS multi-use platform system is able to integrate a range of functions from the transport, energy, aquaculture and leisure sectors, in a greater number of geographical areas than if it was a set platform design, which provides greater opportunities for profitability. | Completed |
| | ABFT SNPs | 157720 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | Isolation and characterization of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | | | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/99066/factsheet/en | The project aimed at providing novel genomic resources for the bluefin tuna by sequencing and characterizing the transcriptome of this economically important species and isolating and validating polymorphic SNPs. | Completed |
| | AQUAEXCEL | 450855 | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | AQUAculture infrastructures for EXCELlence in European fish research towards 2020 | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/97972/factsheet/en | AQUAEXCEL coordinated the highest class European aquaculture research facilities covering the entire range of production systems, environments, scales, fish species and fields of expertise, in order to: a) provide research teams with access to a wide range of the state-of-the-art infrastructures, b) stimulate innovation through transfer of knowledge, harmonisation and development of best practices across fields of research, production systems and species, c) execute joint research and development activities designed to improve the services currently provided by the infrastructures and d) bridge the gap between the scientific community and the industry through stimulation of problem-based research and enhanced knowledge transfer. | Completed |
| | AQUAPHAGE | 39200 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Network for the development of phage therapy in aquaculture | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | Constantina Kokkari | https://aquaphage.weebly.com/ | AQUAPHAGE aims to the formation of a strong network of research organizations for the development of phage therapy in aquaculture through a research staff exchange program. | Completed |
| | ARRAINA | 395281 | Eleni Fountoulaki | Eleni Fountoulaki | Advanced research initiatives in Nutrition and Aquaculture research | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-12-01 | 2016-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health | Morgane Henry, Kriton Grigorakis, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/101744/factsheet/en , http://www.arraina.eu/ | The ARRAINA project aimed to i) develop sustainable alternative aquaculture feeds tailored to the nutritional requirements of European farmed fish species, over their respective full life cycles, with reduced levels of fish meal (FM) and fish oil (FO) and ii) assess the long term physiological consequences by applying targeted predictive tools applicable to multiple species of European farmed fish. It will therefore provide flexibility in the use of various ingredients in the formulation of feeds which are cost-efficient, environmental friendly and which ensure production of seafood of high nutritional value.
To reach this overall objective, the project will:
Define quantitative nutrient requirements for major European farmed fish species
Identify targeted integrative tools that accurately measure and predict metabolic and health effects
Develop integrative approaches linking pathways of energy allocation, protein accretion and identify nutritional drivers in alternative ingredients that may modify metabolism and fish performance
Measure long-term effects of changes in diet formulations on fish performance, such as threshold effects, nutritional intervention in early life history stages, and carry-over from maternal diets to larvae
Evaluate the environmental impacts of long term effects of changes in aquaculture feed formulations and effects on product quality
Test blends of novel sources in commercial feeds for their nutritional value and new ways to deliver nutrients and supplements
Design and deliver new pioneering training courses in fish nutrition to increase the research capacities, particularly in countries of the enlarged EU
Bridge the gap between the scientific community and the commercial sector through stimulation of problem-based research and enhanced knowledge transfer
| Completed |
| | CHRONOSOLEA | 5000 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Reproductive rhythms in Senegalese sole: neuroendocrine regulation and the role of thermo-/photo-cycles in its establishment and maturation during early development | Others | Spanish National | Spanish National | 2011-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | In this projects, we tried to determine the impact of the main environmental synchronizers (light and temperature) on larval development and their repercussions on the reproductive rhythms of Senegales sole (Solea senegalensis). For this, fertilized eggs of sole were exposed to different conditions of light and temperature, similar to the artificial ones used in hatcheries or to those the wild population is subjected to in the natural environment. The key factors to investigate were: (a) cyclical versus constant environment (LL / DD vs LD, and constant temperature vs. temperature cycles), and (b) wavelength of light (white vs blue, green or red). Previously, new techniques will be developed to study the behavior of the larvae based on the filming and analysis of the daily patterns of movement of the larvae.
The primary objective of the first four tasks was to accurately determine which light and temperature conditions have the greatest effect on larvae, and what is the critical duration of exposure during larval development. The following tasks evaluated the effects on the establishment of expression patterns of GnRH, GnIH and GTHs in larvae and fry at the beginning of their sexual differentiation. The effect of thermo/photocycles on auxiliary culture (zooplankton) and larval feeding was also addressed, as well as the viability of a larval culture in mesocosms. Finally, the effect of the larval development conditions on the sexual determination of the fry was analyzed and finally its repercussion on the daily and seasonal reproduction rates in adults.
Knowledge of the functioning of the pineal-hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that regulates the reproduction rhythms of sole is essential to evaluate the incidence of environmental factors during larval development. At CRONOSOLEA we dedicated our research effort to studying new elements of the axis (GnIH and dopaminergic system), not addressed to date. We begun the research with a series of basic tasks of cloning and generating antibodies against GnIH and its receptors, necessary to address the location of GnIH cells in the brain and the development of an ELISA for GnIH. Subsequently, the effect of GnIH on other systems (melatoninergic, GnRH and GTH) was evaluated, as well as its impact on the rhythmic behavior patterns of the larvae. Attention was paid to the chrono-pharmacological effect of acute GnIH administration and the stimulation / inhibition it exerts "in vitro". Finally, tests were carried out to determine the “in vivo” effects of GnIH on the rhythms of seasonal reproduction and daily spawning. | Completed |
| | COPEWELL | 189130 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | Understanding of the basic mechanisms involved in coping strategies of fish towards improvement of welfare | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | Antonios Magoulas, Pantelis Katharios, Dimitris Tsaparis | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/99347/factsheet/en | The project aims to demonstrate and quantify the presence and consistency of individual coping styles in farmed fish, on three of the most important aquaculture species in Europe (Atlantic salmon, European sea bass and gilthead sea bream), to establish methods for reliable identification of these styles and to provide causal mechanisms for their presence, by addressing the genetic regulation of coping styles at the level of the transcriptome, and by investigating differences in telencephalic structure and function. The expected impact of the project is to deepen our knowledge on the development of the brain function, behaviour and stress response in relation to the different husbandry practises and rearing methods. Moreover, it will significantly contribute in providing and extending the knowledge basis for the development of tools such as new individual-based indicators for a better assessment of fish welfare. | Completed |
| | EDGE | 160500 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | Development of a National Network of Genomic Research: Methodological Approach to Systems Biology | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-01-01 | 2014-12-31 | | | Antonios Magoulas, Jelena Radojicic | | EDGE promotes the partnership of four Hellenic Research Centers, with proven experience in genomic approaches to biological systems, in order to more effectively exploit and develop the genomic technology infrastructure by networking and organizing common activities, which include the development and implementation of new genomic approaches and tools for the production, management and analysis of data. | Completed |
| | EMBOS | 5000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | European Marine Observation and Data Network – Biology | EU | COST | COST | 2011-01-01 | 2014-12-31 | | | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Christina Pavloudi, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Niki Keklikoglou, Wanda Plaiti | http://www.embos.eu | EMBOS aims to establish a pan-European large scale network of marine observation stations, with an optimized and standardized methodology, to assess long-term changes in marine biodiversity and their possible causes taking into account natural and anthropogenic gradients. EMBOS will extend and optimize this observatory system, including novel interdisciplinary approaches for research. The cooperation will lead to a focused and cost effective long-term research agenda for EU marine observatories. | Completed |
| | EVAGORAS | 102500 | Georgios Kotoulas | Georgios Kotoulas | Super computer with grid logic for ecological, biological and medical data and algorithms | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | | Antonios Magoulas | http://www.kios.ucy.ac.cy/research/research-projects/completed/144-project-evagoras-high-performance-computing-using-reconfigurable-hardware-for-biological-ecological-and-medical-applications.html | The aim of the project was the creation of a FPGA based supercomputer for medical, biological and ecological data that will provide services to relevant laboratories. | Completed |
| | KRANIOS | 286200 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Development of reproduction and culture methods for meagre (Argyrosomus regius) as a means to improve the competitiveness of the aquaculture industry through species diversification | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-02-17 | 2014-02-16 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Fish health, Fish behaviour, Fish quality and safety | Eleni Fountoulaki, Pantelis Katharios, Nikos Papandroulakis, Ioannis Papadakis, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Stavros Chatzifotis, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis, Elena Sarropoulou, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Kriton Grigorakis, Ioannis Fakriadis, George Rigos, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | https://kranios.weebly.com/ | The objectives of project were the development and diffusion of innovative technologies for breeding, rearing of early developmental stages and fattening of meagre (Argyrosomus regius), a fish species of high interest to be introduced in the Greek and Mediterranean aquaculture. The aim is to diversify production, improve the competitiveness of the enterprises in the sector and contribute to sustainable development of the sector in Greece and the European Union. | Completed |
| | MAPMED | 259407 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Management of port areas in the Mediterranean Basin | Others | ΕΝPI CBCMED | ΕΝPI CBCMED | 2011-01-01 | 2014-12-31 | | Environmental genomics, Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Thanos Dailianis, Manolis Mandalakis, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Wanda Plaiti, Niki Keklikoglou, Katerina Vasiliadou, Christina Pavloudi | http://www.mapmed.eu/ | This project aimed to improve the environmental sustainability of tourist coastal areas in the Mediterranean Sea Basin through the optimisation, validation and transfer of tools to institutional authorities targeting the sustainable management and the reduction of marine pollution in tourist ports. The project was pursued through an integrated multidisciplinary approach and was based on cross-thematic innovative scientific, technological, socio-economic and legal expertise which was applied and replicated in four different Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Tunisia and Egypt). During Phase I the representative tourist port areas were identified and described under a multidisciplinary framework including geographical, socio-economic, physico-chemical and ecological features. In Phase II the most appropriate integrated methodologies for the eco-efficient remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination of water and sediments of tourist port areas were selected and applied in two of the ports. Finally, in Phase III, the outputs of the validation cases were formulated and disseminated as environmental management tools including Site Action Plans and Pressure Impact Analysis. | Completed |
| | MARBIGEN | 2926159 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | Supporting research potential for MARine BIodiversity and GENomics in the Eastern Mediterranean | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-01-01 | 2014-04-30 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis, , Eva Chatzinikolaou, Christina Pavloudi, Georgios Kotoulas, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Elena Sarropoulou, Evangelos Pafilis, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Dounas (retired), Jon Bent Kristoffersen | http://www.marbigen.org/ | MARBIGEN played a pivotal and decisive role to the development of IMBBC, especially in the directions of bioinformatics and biotechnology. It aimed to fully exploit and further develop the research potential of the Institute of Marine Biology and Genetics (IMBG) [now IMBBC] of HCMR in the area of biodiversity, through upgrading existing and acquiring new equipment, hiring incoming scientific personnel to develop biodiversity research topics, taking advantage of the knowledge and experience existing in excellent research entities of the EU through exchanges of researchers, and the organization of workshops and seminars. | Completed |
| | MERMAID | 20000 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Saving wooden shipwrecks in the Mediterranean marine ecosystem: Research, development and application of innovative methods of in situ protection | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Costas Dounas (retired), Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Manolis Mandalakis | http://excellence.minedu.gov.gr/thales/en/thalesprojects/375692 | This project aims to develop and implement two innovative methods for the in situ protection of wooden shipwrecks in both low and high energy underwater environments. The first method involves the wrapping of shipwreck timbers with geotextiles, materials which act as physical barriers to colonization by molluscs and crustaceans. The second method involves the development of an encasement system made of fiber-reinforced polymers that will enclose shipwreck timbers inside the sediment, ensuring long-term preservation. Following an experimental evaluation, the methods will be implemented on two wooden shipwrecks, a C16th Spanish ship and a C13th Byzantine ship, found respectively in the Ionian and Aegean Seas. | Completed |
| | STOCKMED | 10000 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Stock units: Identification of distinct biological units (stock units) for different fish and shellfish species and among different GFCM-GSAs | EU | EMFF | EMFF | 2011-01-01 | 2014-12-31 | | | | https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/stockmed-stock-units-identification-distinct-biological-units-stock-units-different-fish-and_en | The aim of the project was to investigate the presence of distinct biological units (stock units) for some target species for fisheries, in different GFCM-GSAs of the Mediterranean, by reviewing and integrating the available information through a multi-disciplinary approach. | Completed |
| | THYNNOS | 190000 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Reproduction of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in culture conditions and production of fingerlings for growout | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-03-01 | 2014-02-14 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Papadakis, Nikos Papandroulakis, Eleni Fountoulaki, Ioannis Nengas | | The objectives of the program are (a) the development and management of a bluefin tuna broodstock, (b) the development of an appropriate diet for the support of reproductive function of bluefin tuna in captivity, (c) the study of reproductive maturation in culture, (d) the induction of spawning using hormonal therapies and the production of fertilized eggs, (e) the construction of passive and active egg collection devices for sea cages, (f) the development of larval rearing protocols based on the ontogeny of the digestive system and organs related to food acquisition and digestion. | Completed |
| | VECTORS | 100000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-02-01 | 2015-01-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Eva Chatzinikolaou | http://www.marine-vectors.eu/ | The objective of this project was to elucidate the drivers, pressures and vectors that cause change in marine life, the mechanisms by which they do so, the impacts they have on ecosystem structures and functioning, and on the economics of associated marine sectors and society. VECTORS focused particularly on causes and consequences of invasive alien species, outbreak forming species, and changes in fish distribution and productivity. New and existing knowledge was integrated aiming to project changes in marine life, ecosystems and economies under future scenarios for adaptation and mitigation in the light of new technologies, fishing strategies and policy needs. VECTORS has evaluated the current forms and mechanisms of marine governance and policy. Based on the integration of these findings, VECTORS suggested and communicated solutions and tools towards all relevant stakeholders, and finally addressed a complex array of interests comprising areas of concern for marine life and regional development. | Completed |
| | ΕMBRC | 165750 | Antonios Magoulas | Antonios Magoulas | European Marine Biology Resources Centre, preparatory phase | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2011-02-01 | 2014-01-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology, Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Georgios Kotoulas, Elena Sarropoulou, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Panagiotis Kasapidis | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/97195/factsheet/en | The project was the Preparatory Phase for the pan-European Research Infrastructure EUROPEAN MARINE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE CENTRE (EMBRC). It built on existing Marine Biological Institutes and Research Centres which will be complemented with innovative components and properly embedded into European scientific, ethical, legal and societal frameworks. The preparative phase of EMBRC will provide the proof of concept for a key resource to increase excellence and efficacy in Marine Biological Research and secure competitiveness of European research and industry in a global context. This distributed pan-European infrastructure will provide access to information, expertise, national marine stations and laboratories, for both research and training. | Completed |
| | ΕΝΑΛΛΑΚΤΙΚΕΣ | 744167 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Alternative methods of prevention and treatment in Greek aquaculture | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2011-01-10 | 2014-01-10 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Fish health, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Pantelis Katharios, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Morgane Henry, Chrisanthi Nikoloudaki | | The goals of this project were to identify and evaluate substances of natural origin with therapeutic and preventive characteristics having the potential to be eventually new tools for the farmer to combat fish losses with pathological aetiology. It was important to include agents with strong antiparasitic and immuno-stimulating capabilities which could be given through the feed. Other substances with sole immuno-stimulating capabilities were evaluated as preventive measures against bacterial and parasitic infections.
| Completed |
| | AQUAMAX | 372337 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Sustainable aquafeeds to maximize the health benefits of farmed fish for consumers | EU | EU FP6 | EU FP6 | 2010-03-01 | 2010-08-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding, Biomarkers and Bioassays | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Efthimia (Efi) Cotou, Chrisanthi Nikoloudaki, Stamatina Nikolopoulou | | | Completed |
| | AQUAMED | 33400 | George Rigos | George Rigos | Developing a strategy for aquaculture research in the Mediterranean | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-01-01 | 2013-01-01 | | | Ioannis Nengas | | The strategic aim of the AQUAMED project is to reinforce scientific collaboration between the main stakeholders concerned with of the freshwater and marine aquaculture sectors in the Mediterranean basin. Stakeholders include research performing organisations and Universities, industry, NGOs, policy managers in both EU and non-EU member states. This aim has been set in order to
(1) promote a sustainable development of the activity and
(2) improve coordination and programming of research activities funded both at national andcommunity levels.
The project consortium will prioritise communication between key actors in the aquaculture sector. | Completed |
| | BIOEXPLORE | 288000 | Pantelis Katharios | Pantelis Katharios | Biotechnology for the exploitation of microalgae | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2010-01-01 | 2015-12-31 | | | Constantina Kokkari, Panagiota Tsoukali | http://2013.anaptyxi.gov.gr/ergopopup.aspx?mis=319186&wnd=x&dnnprintmode=true | The objective of the project was to characterize and exploit the endemic microalga Chrorella minutissima, for the development of advanced biotechnological applications and of products of high added value. For this purpose, the project combines both basic and applied research in the fields of "-omics" technologies, systems biology, aquaculture and applied biotechnology. | Completed |
| | BioalgaeSorb | 327700 | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | Enabling European SMEs to Remediate wastes, Reduce GHG Emissions and Produce Biofuels via Microalgae Cultivation | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | | Panagiota Tsoukali | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/95350/factsheet/en | The BioAlgaeSorb collaboration will benefit European SME-AGs in diverse business sectors by developing technologies for remediating and valorising industrial and agricultural/aquacultural effluents via microalgae cultivation. | Completed |
| | ClearWaterPMPC | 14794 | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | Pascal Divanach (deceased) | Development of an efficient environmentally-friendly Algae Control System, based on ultrasound technology, designed for use in bigger ponds and lakes | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | | Panagiota Tsoukali | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/101607/factsheet/en | Today’s traditional algae controlling methods (e.g. aeration, chemical or biological additives, ultrasound and others) are not sufficiently effective when it comes to larger waters. The ClearWaterPMPC project offers solutions to these problems by providing an environmentally-friendly technology that is based on ultrasound. | Completed |
| | EFISHENT | 200000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Improvement of feeds and feeding efficiency for seabass in cage farms in the Mediterranean | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | | | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/97728/factsheet/en | In aquaculture the cost of fish feed can account for up to 60 % of total production costs. Therefore, unsuitable feed and/or inappropriate feeding management can have serious impact on farmers' profits. EFISHENT aimed to fine-tune the composition of fish feed and feeding strategy to improve the cost efficiency of European seabass production. Work involved understanding the needs of seabass according to its life stages and environmental and physiological conditions. | Completed |
| | EVAMAP | 20000 | Elena Sarropoulou | Elena Sarropoulou | Evolution and adaptation of marine populations in a temporally and spatially variable environment | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2010-01-01 | 2011-12-31 | | Environmental genomics | Christos Arvanitidis, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou | https://sites.google.com/site/platon2010evamap/ | The project (2010-2011) aims at developing an approach that offers the ability to analyse the relation of abiotic factors with genes dispersal and selection in natural populations. the objective of the research is to create an approach that will be able to be widely used and applied by biological disciplines (e.g. ecology, physiology). Targeted species for the present work should present short life-span (to study many generations), high abundances and be easy to collect and maintain. Polychaetes seem to accomplish these conditions and they are present inside and outside lagoons. Numerous species are tolerant in a wide range of environmental conditions and they are able to survive even under extreme conditions | Completed |
| | HELBIONET | 125000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Hellenic Network for Biodiversity Research | Greece | NSRF 2007-2013 | NSRF 2007-2013 | 2010-03-01 | 2011-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Antonios Magoulas, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Christina Pavloudi, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Eftichia Mironaki, Elena Sarropoulou, Georgios Kotoulas, Katerina Vasiliadou, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Wanda Plaiti, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Dounas (retired) | | The primary objective of the HELBIONET project was to explore the potential of the construction and operation of a national science and technology platform on biodiversity data and data observatories, which would serve as the national node of the European ESFRI platform LifeWatch. HELBIONET supported the preparatory phase of the Greek LifeWatch National Node as a contribution to the European Infrastructure of LIFEWATCH (ESFRI): Science and Technology Infrastructure for Biodiversity Data and Observatories. A network of more than 400 scientists working on biodiversity from 49 research and academic institutes around Greece was established and a feasibility study was performed in order to enhance the implementation phase of the national Research Infrastructure. | Completed |
| | REPROSEL | 110659 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | REPROduction protocols and molecular tools for mass spawning and communal rearing based SELective breeding schemes applied to multiple-spawning marine fish | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-09-01 | 2012-08-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography | Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Darivianakis | | Selective breeding schemes are widely recognized as efficient means to improve aquaculture production. Compared to the individual selection, family-based selection allows a better control of inbreeding and represents the only alternative to improve disease resistance and slaughter traits. However, fish farmers are reluctant to invest in such programs due to the high requirements for space, labour and maintenance. In addition, the sib groups produced may result inadequate when the artificial fertilisation is not fully mastered. This is a limitation for the emergence of breeding programs for multiple-spawning species. However, molecular markers are presented as valid tools to enhance breeding programs, in particular for parentage inference of selection candidates reared in communal tanks. Microsatellite are the mostly used markers and the assignment of progeny is achieved with specific software. But the genotyping costs, combined with the too low assignment rate of progeny to a single parental pair, restrict their use in selection. Relying on mass spawning to implement selective breeding schemes is the challenge this project proposes to tackle. The European seabass and the gilthead seabream are the target species that will be the subject of the following research objectives: understand the spawning kinetics and propose hormonal therapies to develop mass spawning protocols allowing equalised parental contribution; develop highly informative STRs multiplexes and SNPs microchips and optimise an allocation software to maximise the rate of single match at the lower cost; optimise selection models adapted to new mating designs to get the best genetic response while controlling the rate of inbreeding. Based on the projects results, a business plan will be prepared, accompanied by a cost-effectiveness analysis of the proposed strategy. It will result in the reinforcement of existing breeding programs and the emergence of new breeding initiatives. | Completed |
| | ViBRANT | 232049 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | Virtual Biodiversity Research and Access Network for Taxonomy | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2010-12-01 | 2013-11-30 | | Marine biodiversity, Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | Eva Chatzinikolaou, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | http://www.vbrant.eu/ | This project focused on the collective output of biodiversity science, aiming to make these data more transparent, accountable, and accessible. The mobilisation of biodiversity data can address global environmental challenges, contribute to sustainable development, and promote the conservation of biological diversity. Through a platform of web based informatics tools and services, a successful data-publishing framework was built (Scratchpads) allowing distributed groups of scientists to create their own virtual research communities supporting biodiversity science. The infrastructure is highly user-oriented, focusing on the needs of research networks through a flexible and scalable system architecture, and is offering adaptable user interfaces for the development of various services. ViBRANT has supported the management, hardware infrastructure and software development of this system and established connections with the broader landscape of biodiversity initiatives including PESI, Biodiversity Heritage Library (Europe), GBIF and EoL. The system was also interconnected with the LifeWatch Service Centre, ELIXIR and EMBRC objectives, all part of the ESFRI roadmap. ViBRANT also reached out to new multidisciplinary communities including citizen scientists by offering an enhanced suite of services and functionality. | Completed |
| | ConshagaudMIBAGR | 116900 | Panagiotis Kasapidis | Panagiotis Kasapidis | Concrete Conservation Actions for the Mediterranean Shag and Audouin's gull in Greece including the inventory of relevant marine IBAs | Greece | LIFE | LIFE | 2009-01-01 | 2012-12-31 | | Population genetics and phylogeography, Environmental genomics | Dimitris Tsaparis, Jon Bent Kristoffersen, Vasso Terzoglou, Stelios Darivianakis, Katerina Oikonomaki | http://www.ornithologiki.gr/page_in.php?tID=2569&sID=172 | This LIFE project focused on improving the conservation status of Audouin’s gull (Larus audouinii) and Mediterranean shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii), which inhabit the Aegean Sea and Ionian Sea areas of Greece. The former IMBG (now part of IMBBC) coordinated two Actions: a) Action A.7. “Analysis of diet of Phalacrocorax aristotelis and Larus audouinii”, where diet analysis of the two target bird species was performed, using both traditional and DNA metabarcoding techniques and b) Action E.9. “Rat eradication: Assessment of rat re-invasion”, where we estimated the patterns of genetic connectivity of rat populations in several Greek islets important for seabirds, where rat populations would be eliminated, in order to evaluate the probability of re-invasion from the neighboring islands. | Completed |
| | GrowCod | 12000 | Elena Sarropoulou | Elena Sarropoulou | Impact of photoperiod and sexual maturation on growth performance of Atlantic cod – a genomic perspective. | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2009-01-01 | 2013-12-31 | | Functional and Comparative genomics | | http://www.growcod.com/ | Production of cod in aquaculture has seen a notable increase since 2000 and it is poised to expand, as the consumer demand increases. Norway is the main cod producer worldwide but profitability of the industry is restricted by the reduction in growth associated with premature sexual maturation. This adds significantly to production time, resulting in major economic losses. In order to address this serious bottleneck we need to understand the molecular basis of muscle growth in cod but at the moment our knowledge in this area is very limited.The overall aim of this project to identify the networks of genes that regulate growth in cod and to investigate how they are influenced by light and sexual maturation. The first step is to obtain the tools required for this study by high throughput sequencing.This molecular toolbox of key genes involved in muscle growth, development and biological rhythms will be used to examine expression changes in response to light manipulation, to help us understand how it can have a direct influence on growth. We will also investigate mRNA and miRNA expression profiles during a whole maturation cycle, in order to identify genes involved in the growth impairment associated with maturation. Data from these large-scale gene expression studies will be integrated with muscle growth patterns at a cellular level. Circadian rhythmicity of the muscle transcriptome will also be determined in juvenile cod. The most promising candidate genes identified above will be further characterized. In particular, we will look at their expression in response to sex steroids, which are known to be present at high levels during maturation. Finally, we will examine the potential use of different light sources to control maturation in aquaculture conditions and their effect on expression of selected genes and muscle growth.In addition to the fundamental knowledge that it will generate, this project has potential applications in cod farming, since it may identify growth markers for selective breeding programmes as well as new target genes to minimise the negative impact of maturation on growth performance. | Completed |
| | HERMIONE | 20000 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Hotspot ecosystem research and man’s impact on European Seas | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2009-01-01 | 2012-12-31 | | | | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/226354 | The HERMIONE project is designed to make a major advance in our knowledge of the functioning of deep-sea ecosystems and their contribution to the production of goods and services. This will be achieved through a highly interdisciplinary approach (including biologists, ecologists, microbiologists, biogeochemists, sedimentologists, physical oceanographers, modelers and socio-economists) that will integrate biodiversity, specific adaptions and biological capacity in the context of a wide range of highly vulnerable deep-sea habitats. Gaining this understanding is crucial, because these ecosystems are now being affected by climate change and impacted by man through fishing, resource extraction, seabed installations and pollution. To design and implement effective governance strategies and management plans we must understand the extent, natural dynamics and interconnection of ocean ecosystems and integrate socio-economic research with natural science. The study sites include the Arctic, North Atlantic and Mediterranean and cover a range of ecosystems including cold-water corals, canyons, cold and hot seeps, seamounts and open slopes and deep-basins. The project will make strong connections between deep-sea science and user needs. HERMIONE will enhance the education and public perception of the deep-ocean issues also through some of the major EU aquaria. These actions, together with GEOSS databases that will be made available, will create a platform for discussion between a range of stakeholders, and contribute to EU environmental policies. | Completed |
| | ISOSOIL | 190138 | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Paraskevi Polymenakou | Contaminant-specific isotope analysis as sharp environmental-forensics tools for site characterisation, monitoring and source apportionment of pollutants in soil | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2009-02-01 | 2012-01-31 | | Bioanalysis and biotechnology | Manolis Mandalakis | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/212781/reporting | Conventional remediation-monitoring programmes, i.e. analysis of contaminant and metabolite concentrations over time and space, often provide inconclusive assessments due to inability to resolve among mixing of several contaminant sources, degradation, dispersion and other redistribution processes. The isoSoil objective is to firmly establish concentration-independent contaminant-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) as a novel, user-friendly and powerful tool for both degradation monitoring and source apportionment of organic contaminants in soil. | Completed |
| | Mullus | 10000 | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Costas Tsigenopoulos | Population differentiation and biogeography of striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus 1758) | Others | Binational Greece-Germany | Binational Greece-Germany | 2008-01-01 | 2009-31-12 | | Aquaculture Genetics | Vasso Terzoglou, Katerina Oikonomaki, Stelios Darivianakis | | Genetic diversity, population structure and phylogeography of striped red mullet (Mullus surmuletus), one of the most high-priced demersal fishes in the Mediterranean Sea shall be determined by investigating mitochondrial control region sequences and microsatellite markers in parallel. A comparative investigation using different markers can be achieved by combining the competence of the two partner labs. The independent development of new mitochondrial control region primers at IFM-GEOMAR and the development of microsatellite markers at HCMR allows a close cooperation in terms of cross-laboratoy research with the goal of a joint data set for a better understanding of the genetic structure of striped red mullet populations throughout the distribution range of the species. Whether or not there is substantial genetic structure is of particular importance not only in the management of striped red mullet fisheries and the traceability of fisheries products but also for a better understanding of evolutionary pathways like the influence of geography, hydrography and reproduction mode on dispersal and speciation in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean environment | Completed |
| | SELFDOTT | 511470 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | From capture-based to self-sustained aquaculture and domestication of bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus | EU | EU FP7 | EU FP7 | 2008-02-01 | 2010-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies, Aquaculture Genetics | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Nikos Papandroulakis, Ioannis Nengas, Georgios Kotoulas, Aglaia (Cilia) Antoniou, Panagiotis Kasapidis | | SELFDOTT proposes to implement knowledge already obtained on the artificial control of reproduction of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT), Thunnus thynnus, to obtain viable eggs, and study embryonic and larval development for the production of fry (juveniles). At the same time, suitable and environmentally performing feeds for the growout of BFT will be developed, thus reducing or eliminating the practice of raw fish importation and feeding by the fattening industry. Wild juvenile and mature BFT will be reared in captivity at two sites in the Mediterranean, and will be used to study puberty, gametogenesis, and the influence of diet on reproductive maturation and gamete quality. Mature fish will be induced to spawn using hormone implants and the eggs will be collected using devices designed specifically for cages. A population genetic analysis will be conducted to identify the origin of the broodstock in relation to known wild stocks. Parentage analysis will allow estimating the contribution of successful spawners to the reproduction, and the use of many markers on the resulting crosses will allow the creation of a genetic map. To establish the knowledge-base for controlled development of BFT larvae, the mesocosm and artificial larval rearing methods will be employed. The ontogenesis of essential biological functions will be studied, including environmental perception, digestion, immunity and behaviour. A protocol for the commercial-scale larval rearing of BFT will be recommended at the end of the project. Whole body and stomach composition of wild fish will be analyzed and serve as a guide to formulate nutritionally complete artificial feeds for BFT. Juveniles will be captured from the wild, adapted to captive conditions and used to carry out weaning and feeding experiments, using moist and dry pelleted diets. The environmental impact of the formulated feeds will be examined and compared to existing raw-fish practises. SELFDOTT will produce the basic knowledge necessary for the development of a self-sustained aquaculture industry for the BFT in the Mediterranean, thus enhancing the competitiveness of the EU aquaculture industry, while at the same time reducing the pressure on the wild BFT stocks and ensuring the conservation and recovery of this magnificent fish. | Completed |
| | ALLOTUNA | 42375 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Set up of an integrated system of the bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) farming in the Gulf of Taranto. Progetto Strategico, Regione Puglia Assessorato Bilancio E Programmazione | Others | Italian National | Italian National | 2007-09-01 | 2010-03-31 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | The transition of the bluefin tuna industry from a capture-based industry to a traditional aquaculture industry necessitates the development of (a) broodstock management methods for the production of fertilized eggs and (b) larval rearing techniques for the production of fingerlings for the stocking of grow-out cages. Development of captive broodstocks should be easier to accomplished using juvenile fish collected from the wild. Juveniles will be (a) easier to handle and transfer to rearing facilities, be it sea cages or land-based tanks, (b) more cost effective to maintain since they are much smaller than mature fish captured by the purse seine fishery, and (c) could be easier to adapt to captivity conditions, thus being easier to mature reproductively and perhaps spawn spontaneously in captivity. In order to use juvenile fish for the development of captive brooodstocks, it is important to investigate (a) if juvenile fish do reach reproductive maturity in culture conditions and (b) at which age/size they do so.
In the present proposal, immature fish will be placed in cages and will be reared for 3 consecutive years, under common bluefin tuna rearing conditions. At the time of capture, 12 individuals will be sacrificed in order to obtain blood, which will be used to measure the concentration of important reproductive hormones, such as the steroids 17b-estradiol, Testosterone and 11-keto Testosterone, and 17a-20b-dihydroxyprogesterone. Gonads will also be collected in order to evaluate the gonadosomatic index (gonad weight/body weight) and to determine the sex and reproductive stage of the fish using histological processing. Thereafter and until the conclusion of the experiment, 12 individuals will be randomly sacrificed from the population during the annual reproductive season of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. This occurs in June-July. Again, blood and gonads will be collected in order to determine the reproductive status of the fish and determine the age/size of first maturity, as well as the appropriateness of the fish for reproduction in captivity.
In addition, 20 mature bluefin tuna collected during the natural spawning season with a purse seine, will be placed in a cage and reared using standard bluefin tuna rearing conditions. During the reproductive season, and once water temperatures reach appropriate levels (>22 C), fish will be treated with GnRHa implants in order to induce spawning and the production of fertilized eggs | Completed |
| | ECIMAR | 25000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Ecologie Chimique Marine: Indicateurs de Biodiversité et Valorisation | Others | Binational Greece-France | Binational Greece-France | 2007-01-01 | 2012-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Thanos Dailianis, Costas Tsigenopoulos | | | Completed |
| | MESSARA | 80000 | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri | Holistic fisheries management of Messara Bay, southern Crete, Greece | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2007-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Maria Maidanou, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Costas Dounas (retired) | | Messara Bay is located in the south coasts of Crete and comprises an important fishing ground for the recruitment of red mullet (Mullus barbatus). The study of this ecosystem is considered to be necessary as it suffers from pollution mainly due to urbanization and agriculture (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.). | Completed |
| | NEW METHODS | 11750 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | New methods to evaluate the contamination of marine ecosystems: application on certain coastal areas of Tunisia and Greece | Others | Binational Greece-Tunisia | Binational Greece-Tunisia | 2007-01-01 | 2009-31-12 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | Morgane Henry | | The choice of detailed methods and stress parameters that will prove to be reliable and easy to use | Completed |
| | Sponges | 60000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Development of innovative measures for the support of commercial sponge fisheries in the Aegean Sea | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2007-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Thanos Dailianis | | Five sponge species of high commercial value constitute the sponge stocks harvested in the Aegean Sea. These species have been recognized as a marine resource of substantial importance. Today, as a result of both the absence of an effective management plan and an epidemic disease incident in the Mediterranean, these stocks face a dramatic reduction, resulting to the decline of sponge fisheries as an economic branch. The ongoing project aims at the effective management of this biological resource in a sustainable approach, through 3 axes: | Completed |
| | BEACH-MED | 17000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | POSIDUNE: Posidonia oceanica and sand interaction with dune natural environment | Others | INTERREG | INTERREG | 2006-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Apostolos Krystallas | | The aim of the project was the exchange of experience and technical knowledge on the management of dune systems of the Mediterranean coast. The implementation of common protocols for monitoring also included the description of the geophysical and biological parametres of the coastal environment in selected areas and the assess of the application of innovative methods and intervention techniques for restoration and protection of coastal dunes. Specific innovative application is the massive use of marine litter phanerogams (Posidonia oceanica) in the manufacture of structural units for protection and improvement of the dunes. | Completed |
| | BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS | 11750 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Biological effects of antifouling and bacteriostatic compounds used in the Medire industry today | Others | Binational Greece-Spain | Binational Greece-Spain | 2006-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | George Rigos, Morgane Henry | | The aim of the project is to determine whether the use of some new antifouling compounds as well as some of the common used bacteriostatics used in aquaculture industry are causing, or are likely to cause undesirable biological effects on the fish farmed species and on other species living close to the nets. | Completed |
| | COST867 | 16000 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Welfare of Fish in European Aquaculture | EU | COST | COST | 2006-01-01 | 2011-12-31 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | | | The main objective of this COST Action is to improve the knowledge on welfare of fish and formulate a set of guidelines embodying a common and scientifically sound understanding of the concept of welfare in farmed fish and to construct a range of targeted operational welfare indicator protocols to be used in the industry. The Action will focus principally upon the five main farmed species in Europe, namely salmon, rainbow trout, sea bass, sea bream and carp. The outcomes of the Action are also expected to have direct implications for welfare concepts in the use of experimental animals, keeping of ornamental fish, and for wild fisheries. Secondary objectives 1. Evaluation of existing knowledge generated from fundamental fish biology research for its relevance from a welfare and comparative species perspective (WG1). 2. The use of expertise from within the consortium, to define techniques and systems for validating specific aspects of welfare and operational welfare indicators using a range of physiological, behavioural and motivational research strategies.(WG1). 3. Identification of gaps in knowledge and changing research focus to ensure that studies do not concentrate only upon avoidance of negative welfare but also involve research describing positive welfare indicators and targeting physiological balance and wellbeing of the animal (WG1). 4. Description and definition of nutritional, health, behavioral and environmental parameters from a welfare perspective (WG2). 5. Description and definition of management protocols that promote good welfare at a farm level (WG2). 6. Use of expertise from within the consortium, to create a series of Operational Welfare Indicator (OWI) matrices for the five main farmed species of European aquaculture based on existing and new knowledge (WG2). 7. Identification of experimental methods and existing but underutilised data sets that can be used for evaluating/simulating management systems, including systems associated with different species, farming systems, life stages and environmental conditions.(WG3). 8. Provision of information to inform the fish welfare debate and help develop legislation and legislative processes related to fish welfare, through meetings, reports, publications and co-organisation of international conferences and workshops (WG3). 9. Description of the present state of welfare-directed activity of participating countries and formulation of country specific advice/activities (WG3). 10. Formulation of activities/advice as to how best to promote the transition from systems based upon purely technical solutions to systems based upon realising the biological production potential of the animal (WG3). 11. Facilitation of communication between ongoing initiatives at a national and international level with particular emphasis upon the promotion of links with relevant activities in terrestrial farmed animals and activities aimed at understanding the consumer impact on future animal production. 12. Facilitation of knowledge transfer and training through short scientific missions between established and new research groups. Interaction along North-South and West-East geographic axes will be encouraged. | Completed |
| | GROWBASS | 186214 | Stavros Chatzifotis | Stavros Chatzifotis | Development of a novel method for the culture of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) based on sex differentiation and manipulation of environmental rearing parameters. | Greece | PEP Greece | PEP Greece | 2006-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding, Production technologies | Constantinos Mylonas, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | The purpose of this project was to develop a new holistic approach to European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) cultivation that takes into account the interrelated factors of growth, vigor / fat content of the body and reproductive maturation of the population. To achieve this goal, the research effort was organized in three main areas: a) Production of female sea bass individuals, b) Suspension / Postponement of the reproductive maturation of the population through change of photoperiod and food management and c) Increase in growth rate through qualitative change which includes eight sections of work.
Specifically, GROWBASS investigated:
1) Effect of rearing temperature during larval rearin on sex differentiation, and subsequent growth,
2) Difference in the reproductive function (quantity and quality of sperm) of males between early precocious (1st year) and normal (2nd year) reproductive maturation,
3) Effect of early precocious (1st year) and normal (2nd year) reproductive maturation on body growth,
4) Comparison of intensive rearing and mesocosm rearing in regards to the female percentage of the population,
5) Management of feeding for the purpose of postponing / inhibiting reproductive maturation,
6) Photoperiod management with the aim of postponing / inhibiting reproductive maturation and increasing body growth,
7) Effect of food fat percentage on body growth and feed conversion and on reproductive maturation,
8) Economic and technical study of sea bass rearing under the new management model. | Completed |
| | TUNAFEED | 97000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Development of commercial diets for the cultivation of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). | Greece | PEP Greece | PEP Greece | 2006-06-01 | 2008-05-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Fish nutrition and feeding | Constantinos Mylonas, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | Finding a complete and acceptable food for aquacultured fishes is one of the most important issues in fish farming. Unlike most farmed species, there are some species of commercial interest (Atlantic bluefin tuna, common dentex, greater amberjack) that do not accept the usual foods provided in the form of extruded pellets. The raw feeds that are fed to date (due to their better acceptance) also have many disadvantages (low growth, problem with methods of administration and increased environmental burden, as well a biosecurity problems).
The aim of this program was to design and produce food in the form of dry pellet of improved taste (and therefore better acceptance by fish) and complete nutritional value for the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus, Linnaeus). An extrusion method was applied to produce a dry pellet that would meet the nutritional requirements of the species and ensure optimal weight gain, body composition and health. The effect of the size, shape and color of the compound, as well as various attractive substances (fish flour, shrimp flour, and attractive mixture) on the susceptibility of food to fish was evaluated. Different diets were evaluated based on their effect on fish preference (consumption).
Then the foods with the best characteristics were selected and experiments were done in relation to the protein/fat levels in the food to find the best concentrations that will cover the nutritional needs of the fish and give the best growth, conversion ratio, health and desired composition. We also examined the potential and size/age of the first reproductive maturation of Atlantic bluefin tuna under aquaculture conditions, in response to different diets. At the end, optimization of rearing conditions (in relation to growth, health, fish quality, and breeding costs) was undertaken regarding feeding levels. | Completed |
| | AQUAMAX | 200000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Sustainable Aquafeeds to Maximaze health benefits of Farmed Fish for Concumers. | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 2005-01-01 | 2009-31-12 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The aim of the program is to evaluate the use of modern feeding and farming systems of fish in their physiology, quality and health as well as in the health of consumers. | Completed |
| | GLOSSA | 11500 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Improvement of the Aquaculture production in the Mediterranean by developing reproduction control methods for a new species, the sole (Solea senegalensis) | Others | Binational Greece-Spain | Binational Greece-Spain | 2005-03-10 | 2007-02-09 | | Reproduction and physiology, Production technologies | Maria Papadaki | | Marine fish farming in Europe in mostly restricted to a few species, such as the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and, to a much lesser extend turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). As a result, selling prices have been severely reduced, at times reaching below the cost of production. It has been long recognized, that diversification of the aquaculture production is imperative for the improvement of the economics of the industry, and the utilization of niche markets and production possibilities. One of the main candidates as a new species for aquaculture, especially in Spain, is the sole (Solea senegalensis). Although many farms have shown interest in culturing sole, and attempts have been made in producing larvae in commercial hatcheries, culture trials of sole have shown serious problems related to its reproduction in captivity. When spawning is achieved, the females produce irregular and unpredictable spawning, consisting of a few eggs with variable quality, whereas the males produce very little and viscous milt, which reduces its fertilization ability. These problems prevent a consistent supply of good quality seed and thus, the development of a profitable and sustainable aquaculture industry for sole.
Failure of female broodfish to undergo final oocyte maturation (FOM) and spawning, and reduced spermiation in males in captivity is a common reproductive dysfunction of cultured fishes. This is due to the absence of the appropriate spawning environment, as well as the stressors imposed by captivity. Manipulation of reproductive processes and induction of FOM and spermiation can be achieved using a variety of hormonal treatments. We believe that adequate broodstock management and the application of modern hormonal therapies will greatly reduce these reproductive dysfunctions, as it has been done in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). In the case of sole, there is a handicap on the little scientific knowledge available on its reproductive processes and limited expertise on its reproduction in captivity, which has focused mostly on the common sole (Solea solea). The use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa)-based hormonal treatments has demonstrated its efficacy to induce spawning and synchronize the broodstock in several cultured fish species. Treatment with GnRHa can be done in the form of simple injections or sustained-release delivery systems. Due to the short half-life of GnRHa, a simple injection induces a brief elevation in plasma luteinizing hormone (LH), the gonadotropin responsible for FOM. As a result, some fishes require multiple GnRHa injections for an effective treatment, whereas in some occasions the required handling for multiple injections is prohibitive, both for management and fish welfare reasons. Sustained-release GnRHa-delivery systems (implants or microspheres), on the other hand, induce long-term stimulation of LH release with only a single treatment, and have proven effective in inducing FOM, spermiation and spawning in many fishes. Studies over the past decade have demonstrated that these new therapies are specially appropriated for species with repetitive spawning (i.e. asynchronous ovarian development), such as the sole. The aim of the present project is the study and description of the reproductive cycle of sole, and the development and application of novel hormonal therapies, for the control and stimulation of spermiation in males and egg deposition in females. This is the first time that this type of hormonal induction methods will be applied in sole. | Completed |
| | FastGrowers | 150000 | Nikos Papandroulakis | Nikos Papandroulakis | Novel methods of reproduction and larval rearing of fast-growing fishes | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2004-06-01 | 2007-05-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Production technologies | Constantinos Mylonas, Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | | Completed |
| | ICHTHYONYMPHI | 11555 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Differentiation of aquaculture production in Greece and Cyprus: study of larval rearing of shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa) | Others | Binational Greece-Cyprus | Binational Greece-Cyprus | 2004-05-01 | 2006-04-30 | | Reproduction and physiology, Production technologies | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Fakriadis | | The ICHTHYONYMPHI proposal continued our studies for the acquisition of biological knowledge necessary for the integration of the Shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa) in the Mediterranean fish farming. We studied larval rearing, which is the most difficult phase in the life cycle. Egg production was done by breeders kept in Cyprus and the eggs were transfered to HCMR for larval rearing using the Mesocosm method. This method was used for the first time in the shi drum, and was studied as an alternative way of larval rearing in order to increase the viability and improve the morphological characteristics of the fish. In particular, previous studies have shown that the shi drum exhibits some skeletal deformities when the larval rearing is done by intensive methods. The presence of such deformities will be studied during the production of shi drum with the mesocosm method.
The ontogeny of the digestive system of the shi drum was also studied, and the effect of the exogenous diet on the morphogenesis of the digestive system was investigated. We have previously shown that this species can be reared without the use of Artemia nauplii as feed, which is essential for other marine species. Artemia, along with Brachionus plicatilis, is one of the live foods given to marine fish at this stage, and constitutes 50% of the total cost of producing fish. It is therefore important to investigate the reasons why the digestive system of the shi drum can accept industrialized food directly after the administration of rotifers, and Artemia is not needed. Such information could lead us to ways to reduce the use of Artemia also in other cultivated species. Histological findings, combined with the ontogenetic scale of the species, will form the basis for the proper management of farmed shi drum larvae. Finally, the ICHTHYONYMPHI proposal studied the adaptation and growth of the shi drum in low salinity conditions, so as to investigate the possibility of its cultivation in lagoons, with the ultimate goal of making the shi drum a species for their mild exploitation. | Completed |
| | MARBEF | 91144 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | MarBEF: Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning | EU | EU FP6 | EU FP6 | 2004-01-01 | 2008-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Costas Tsigenopoulos, Panagiotis Kasapidis, Costas Dounas (retired), Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Katerina Vasiliadou | | MarBEF, a network of excellence funded by the European Union and consisting of 94 European marine institutes, was a platform to integrate and disseminate knowledge and expertise on marine biodiversity, with links to researchers, industry, stakeholders and the general public | Completed |
| | PRAXE | 25000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Innovative System for the foundation of piles in sedimentary environments. | Others | PRAXE | PRAXE | 2004-01-01 | 2005-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | | | The aim of this project is the development of a business plan for the exploitation of a patented technology awarded by the European Patent Office and the final financing of this project by PRAXE Second Phase of the General Secretary of Research and Development aiming at the development of a spin-off company. The development of the innovative System for the foundation of piles in sedimentary environments presents advantages over other classical foundation methods and covers a wide range of applications in the coastal environmental protection, aquaculture and coastal defense works. The new system is protected by a European patent in 13 countries and new innovative applications are under development. | Completed |
| | TWReferenceNet | 60000 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | ΤWReferenceNet: Management and Sustainable Development of Protected Transitional Waters | Others | INTERREG | INTERREG | 2004-01-01 | 2007-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Giorgos Chatzigeorgiou, Thanos Dailianis, Elena Sarropoulou, Katerina Vasiliadou, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Costas Dounas (retired), Apostolos Krystallas | | Management and Sustainable Development of Protected Transitional Waters | Completed |
| | Wealth | 300000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Welfare and health in sustainable aquaculture | EU | EU FP6 | EU FP6 | 2004-01-01 | 2007-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The objective of the present project is to improve welfare and health of farmed fish through reduced stress and improved immune competence in Atlantic salmon and sea bass. The principles derived are expected to be applied to other species. The objective will be achieved by exposing fish in fresh water and seawater to environmental stress such as low O2, ammonia, high CO2 under high and low stocking density, and varied light regimes. | Completed |
| | Novel | 250000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Development of production technologies of novel fish feeds for Mediterranean aquaculture fish | Others | General Secretariat for Research and technology (GSRT) | General Secretariat for Research and technology (GSRT) | 2003-01-01 | 2006-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Maria Alexi, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The aim of the work is to establish diets with an improved texture in terms of their softness, the composition of protein, fat and carbohydrates as well as in the selection and incorporation of levels of nutrients and additives. The levels of these nutrients will be decided, first, according to the nutritional requirements of the species and will be finalized during the course of the project. Different ingredients with water retention or softness characteristics will be explored. | Completed |
| | REPRODOTT | 138391 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Reproduction of the bluefin tuna in captivity: a feasibility study for the domestication of Thunnus thynnus | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 2003-01-01 | 2006-04-30 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | Controlled reproduction is a crucial step on the road to domesticating a wild species. We need to understand the environmental cues and parameters that initiate the maturation process and control it. We need to know the size and age at first spawning in both sexes. We have to study the hormonal regulation on gonadal development, maturation of gametes, spawning and fecundity, and finally develop suitable methods to control the reproduction of the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus). The availability of captive brood stock will allow us to increase the knowledge about the input of reproduction cues to recruitment determinism in the wild, hence allowing a better management of the resource.
In order to develop an aquaculture farming technology for the Atlantic bluefin tuna, it is of utmost importance to improve our knowledge on the reproductive biology of the species, as well in the wild as in captivity. This was achieved by establishing protocols for an effective sampling of fish and by selecting appropriate methods to assess their hormonal and gametogenetic status. For this task to be done successfully, it was crucial to predispose collaboration with both fisheries scientists expert in the migratory routes of Atlantic bluefin tuna and the fishing fleets from various Mediterranean countries. The Atlantic bluefin tuna being a migratory species, the reproductive status at fishing time is the consequence of preceding uncontrolled events; the possibility to monitor a captive brood stock will provide valuable and original information on the influence of external factors on the reproduction process in big pelagic migratory fish.
A major objective of the project was to assess the capability of BFT brood stock to mature and spawn in captivity. This required the use of appropriate facilities for the confinement of a brood stock that allow fish to swim at their desired speed without the danger of coming into contact with the enclosure walls. A large stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna was held in the cage for a long period (3 years). During the natural spawning period (May-August), a thorough observation of the fish in the brood stock was made to detect presumable courtship or reproductive behaviour.
The main aim of reproduction in aquaculture is to provide fry in any circumstance whatever the way to obtain them, that is, we have first to assess the feasibility to obtain viable eggs from Atlantic bluefin tuna breeders. Thus, irrespective of natural spawning and egg fertilization in cage-reared Atlantic bluefin tuna, it was necessary to develop suitable methodologies to obtain viable high quality gametes from wild and/or cage-reared fish during the spawning time. The application of hormonal induction techniques for Atlantic bluefin tuna maturation and spawning will be useful, especially if the fish do not spawn naturally in captivity.
The implementation of the above tasks required the suitable and safe management of the livestock, so we needed to develop handling methods for routine operations in Atlantic bluefin tuna aquaculture. This included testing the effectiveness of different anaesthetics and anaesthesia procedures, the use of adequate transport systems for live fish, the development of egg collection methods and the utilisation of non-invasive methodologies for sexing and monitoring maturation. | Completed |
| | Ierissos | 45000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Development of a marine protected zone with artificial reefs in Ierissos Bay (N. Aegean Sea) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2002-01-01 | 2003-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Apostolos Krystallas, Maria Maidanou, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic | | The aim of this project is the development of a protected zone for fisheries in the Gulf of Ierissos. This study includes measurements of hydrographic, geological, physicochemical and biological parameters in the study area in order to investigate specific geotechnical properties and the exact positions for the deployment of the artificial reef units. | Completed |
| | Kalymnos | 45000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Development of a marine protected zone with artificial reefs in Kalymnos Island (S. Aegean Sea) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2002-01-01 | 2003-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Apostolos Krystallas, Maria Maidanou, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic | | The aim of this project is the development of a protected zone for fisheries in the marine area between Ko and Kalymnos Islands. This study includes measurements of hydrographic, geological, physicochemical and biological parameters in the study area in order to investigate specific geotechnical properties and the exact positions for the deployment of the artificial reef units. | Completed |
| | Preveza | 45000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Development of a marine protected zone with artificial reefs along Preveza coast (Ionian Sea) | Greece | EP Fisheries | EP Fisheries | 2002-01-01 | 2003-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Apostolos Krystallas, Maria Maidanou, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic | | The aim of this project is the development of a protected zone for fisheries along the coast of Preveza. This study includes measurements of hydrographic, geological, physicochemical and biological parameters in the study area in order to investigate specific geotechnical properties and the exact positions for the deployment of the artificial reef units. | Completed |
| | BEEP | 228000 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Biological Effects of Environmental pollution in marine coastal ecosystems | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 2001-01-01 | 2004-12-31 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | | | The goal of this research programme is to evaluate the potential of using biological marker determined in marine organisms (fish, bivalves) as a means of assessment of chemical contamination and to investigate the socio-economic implications for certain selected zones for coastal communities dependent from marine resources. Different types of coastal European environments (Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Sea) will be investigated by the participants who will co-operate on the three selected environments through a long term study | Completed |
| | MYLOKOPI | 8800 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Development of methods for the control of reproduction and culture of shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa) for the diversification of aquaculture production in Cyprus and Greece. | Others | Binational Greece-Cyprus | Binational Greece-Cyprus | 2001-01-01 | 2003-12-31 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Papadakis | | The differentiation of fish species raised in fish farms is a very important factor in the overall effort to develop the marine fish farming industry. To date, more than 90% of the Mediterranean aquaculture production is based on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) and European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). The shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa) is a member of the Sciaenidae family and is one of the five species of the family found in the Mediterranean. The high market value and high demand in the market combined with the rapid growth rate make it one of the main species selected by various Mediterranean research centers to differentiate fish farming.
The purpose of this proposal was (a) to develop sustainable production of eggs by using controlled-release systems for GnRHa, (b) the assessment of egg quality, (c) the rearing of larvae for mass production infish farms and d) the growout to marketable size in cages and in land-based tanks. GnRHa implants were produced and were used during the breeding season. The eggs produced were evaluated in terms of quality and quantity. The larval rearing of the shi drum was studied in order to create a relevant technical production protocol that can be used by the private sector directly. The ultimate goal of the proposed research project was to develop the appropriate know-how for the stable production of good quality and quantity of eggs, the mass production of larvae and their growout on a commercial basis, in order to integrate the species in the industry, increasing the competitiveness of the Cypriot and Greek fish farming in the Mediterranean market. | Completed |
| | Mormyrous | 70000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Study of the nutritional factors affecting the growth and survival of Lithognathus mormyrous under culture conditions | Others | PAVET | PAVET | 2001-01-01 | 2003-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Maria Alexi, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The objective of the project is the study of the nutritional requirements of the species Lithognathus mormyrous. Practical diets will be tested in order to investigate the optimum level of protein and energy as well as the levels of feeding in relation to growth, food utilization, physiology and disease resistance. Also, nutritional factors such as levels of vitamins as well as levels of essential fatty acids will be studied and their effect on the immune system will be determined. | Completed |
| | PROBASS | 444286 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Improving production efficiency of sea bass farming by developing methodologies to eliminate environmental androgenesis | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 2001-01-01 | 2004-03-31 | | Reproduction and physiology, Production technologies | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki, Ioannis Papadakis | | PROBASS addressed the problem of very high percentage of males obtained in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) aquaculture. Males mature reproductively earlier, have slower growth rates due partly to usage of energy for testicular growth, and have 20-40% less body weight at harvest time. The objectives of PROBASS were to gain knowledge on the hormonal, biochemical and molecular regulation of sex differentiation in sea bass, and develop a methodology by which sex ratios can be manipulated to produce more females. Environmental factors influence sex differentiation and sex ratios in many fish, including the sea bass, therefore PROBASS will evaluate the effects of temperature and rearing density on the hormonal, biochemical and molecular parameters regulating sex differentiation, and develop an environmental feminization protocol for the industry. Use of female-dominant populations will increase production efficient and competitiveness of the industry, since females fish grow earlier and produce more muscle mass.
The first part of PROBASS was the development of the required methodologies to study the process of sex differentiation. These methodologies include expression of sex differentiation genes (SOX, SF 1 and DAX-1); expression and tissue levels of GnRHs, GtHs, GH and IGF I and II; steroidogenic enzyme gene expression (P450c17, P450arom and P450c11b); tissue levels of sex steroids (T, 11-KT and E2); and androgen and estrogen receptor expression and binding. The second part included the production of male- and female-dominant stocks by selective grading. From these stocks, morphometric data and tissue samples were collected for an ontogenic analysis of the brain-pituitary-gonad axis during sex differentiation, in order to identify sexually dimorphic profiles among the above studied parameters. The third part examined the effects of manipulations of rearing temperature and stocking density during early development on sex differentiation and resulting sex ratios, with the objective of identifying a temperature/density regime, which produces female-dominant stocks. Samples were again collected to evaluate the influence of temperature/density on sex differentiation at the level of the brain, pituitary and gonad. The fourth part was a trial carried out in grow-out facilities, to determine if fry reared under the developed temperature/density manipulation regime produce female-dominant stocks in industrial production facilities. PROBASS aimed at clarifying essential biological functions in European sea bass, which can benefit aquaculture production. It has resulted in the development of a new system of production using temperature manipulations to produce more females. Since females grow more than males, culture of female-dominant stocks has improvew aquatic production and increased competitiveness of the aquaculture industry. This new environmental method has eliminated the use of steroid hormones to control sex ratios, thus reducing the impact of aquaculture on the environment. | Completed |
| | BIOMARE | 34320 | Christos Arvanitidis | Christos Arvanitidis | BIOMARE: Implementation and Networking of large-scale long-term Marine Biodiversity research in Europe | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 2000-01-01 | 2002-12-31 | | Marine biodiversity, Ecology and ecosystem management | Costas Dounas (retired) | | A concerted action at European scale is proposed to establish the infrastructure and conditions required for marine biodiversity research. The objectives will be complemented through 3 work packages, consisting of a series of evaluations, recommendations, regional meetings and joint workshops. The CA will lead to 1) the selection and implementation of a network of Reference Sites as the basis for long-term and large-scale marine biodiversity research in Europe, 2) internationally agreed standardised and normalised measures and indicators for (the degree of) biodiversity and 3) facilities, such as a data-base, a web-site, and workshops, for further dissemination and integration of data by students, researchers, and administrators dealing with socio-economic questions, and improvement of the awareness of the public on marine biodiversity issues. | Completed |
| | INTERISK | 30000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Interregional telematic network for the management of risks in the Balkan and South Mediterranean area: Albania, FYROM, Bulgaria, Regions of Central Macedonia and Crete (INTERISK) | Others | INTERREG | INTERREG | 2000-01-01 | 2002-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Maria Maidanou, Apostolos Krystallas | | Interisk is an ECOS-OUVERTURE project that aims to develop a European Interregional telematic network for risk management in the Balkan and South Mediterranean area. On interregional level, the project focused on the exchange of experience and know-how, the establishment of a network of exchanging information on risk strategies and quality insurance issues. On regional level, in selected pilot areas, the monitoring system of water hydrological and quality parameters has been improved by adding new remote stations to the existing monitoring system. Through a telematic network, local data referred to the most frequent for these regions risks could be stored, transferred and processed. | Completed |
| | ISPANIA-MYLONAS | 12300 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Use of polymer-based, controlled-release delivery systems for gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) for the optimization of spawning induction methods for cultured fishes, with emphasis on the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). | Others | Binational Greece-Spain | Binational Greece-Spain | 2000-02-01 | 2003-03-31 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki, Irene Sigelaki | | In the Mediterranean region, aquaculture has grown steadily over the past decade and today Greece has the highest marine finfish production, while Spain is by far the first in mussel production. Of the more than 90 hatcheries in operation in the Mediterranean as of 1997, 25 were located in Greece, producing an estimated 100 million of fry. The main species in production are the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata).
The European seabass is a gonochoristic species with group-synchronous ovarian development, which means that it has the potential for spawning more than once during the annual spawning season. However, spawning of this species in commercial hatcheries is inconsistent and unreliable, compared to the gilthead seabream, creating production problems to the hatchery management. First of all, the time of the onset of the spawning season can vary significantly over the years. Secondly, the percentage of broodstock actually spawning can vary. Finally, the number of spawns produced from each female and the total fecundity are currently unknown, as are many of the factors influencing egg quality. To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of hatchery production of the European seabass, it is necessary to develop methods for controlling final oocyte maturation (FOM) and inducing multiple spawnings in a predictable and reliable way.
The objective of the current research was to develop a hormonally-based method for the control of final oocyte maturation (FOM), ovulation and spawning in cultured European seabass. This method will enhance the production efficiency of population spawning, as is the situation in commercial hatcheries, and it will enable for the first time the tank spawning of single females in small tanks, as is required for the development of a genetic selection program. The research, which was be carried out both in the IMBC, Greece and IATS, Spain involved (a) development of two different types of sustained-release GnRHa-delivery systems, (b) determination of the most effective hormonal treatment for the induction of multiple spawnings in group- and paired-breedings in small tanks, and (c) evaluation of the effects of the hormonal treatment on spawning frequency, fecundity, fertility, hatching, and larval development and survival. At the end of the study, we have optimized a hormonally-based protocol for the reliable induction of FOM, ovulation and multiple spawnings of European seabass, either in group- or paired breedings, producing eggs of good quality and viability. The development of such method has enhanced the hatchery production of European seabass, but also enabled the establishment of genetic selection programs, which will be based on the tank spawning of individual broodstock. | Completed |
| | LAVRAKI | 17000 | Constantinos Mylonas | Constantinos Mylonas | Environmental and pharmacological manipulations for the improvement of methods for the control of early reproductive maturation, ovulation and sperm production in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) | Others | IPE Cyprus National | IPE Cyprus National | 2000-04-01 | 2003-03-31 | | Reproduction and physiology | Maria Papadaki | | One of the most important species of marine fish farming in Europe is the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Annual production accounts for 42% of marine fish farming in Europe, no including Atlantic salmon. It is a very popular species and in the future its production in Europe is expected to increase further. Cyprus is one of the first Mediterranean countries to develop marine fish farming, but focusing mainly on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). This is due in part to the malfunctions of seabass reproduction and the susceptibility of the offspring to disease due to the high temperatures of the Cyprus Sea. Some of the problems are that the start of the breeding season varies considerably from year to year, as does the percentage of females giving birth and their annual fertility. Also, because the production of brood is limited to the spring months, the brood is placed in the open sea during the spring and summer months when the water temperature is high.
The object of the research proposal was to develop (a) photothermal methods for accelerating reproductive maturation and off-season reproduction and distribution of offspring, and (b) hormonal methods for the control and optimization of spawning and sperm production. Two chambers of environmental management were constructed with recycled water and photoperiod and temperature control, and will be used to accelerate reproductive maturation by 3-6 months. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRHa) analog controlled secretion implants were prepared and characterized. Their effectiveness in causing the final ripening and increasing sperm production in European sea bass was examined and compared with existing breeding control methods.
The LABVAKI program has effectively contributed to both the amount of European sea bass and the period of its availability in the domestic and foreign markets, including the winter months. It has also optimized the effectiveness of European sea bass reproduction, thus reducing the cost of egg production and increasing the competitiveness of Cypriot fish farms in the Greek brood market, which absorbs more than 30% of the Mediterranean and 70% of the Cypriot production. | Completed |
| | BBL | 360000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Development of a new method for the quantitative measurement of the effects of otter trawling on benthic nutrient fluxes and sediment biogeochemistry | EU | EU FP5 | EU FP5 | 1999-01-01 | 2002-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Maria Maidanou, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Moshoula Livadara | | This project was an EU Programme (DG XIV,1998-2002) aiming at developing new methodologies in order to provide direct quantitative measurements of the effects of bottom fishing gears on the benthic nutrient fluxes and sediment biogeochemistry. The following objectives were also part of this project:
• the study of BBL biodiversity by means of improved and modified innovative sampling gears
• the investigation and analyses of the physical and biogeochemical processes in relation to BBL biodiversity
• the development of new methodologies in order to provide direct quantitative measurements of the effects of bottom fishing gears on BBL environment
• the evaluation of the role of BBL biodiversity with respect to nutrient regeneration, carbon cycling and energy transfer to higher trophic levels
• to improve existing ecosystem models by highlighting new aspects in the interactions between demersal fish and benthos. | Completed |
| | StatusGR | 33000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Study of the nutritional status of Greek mariculture. Ministry of Agriculture. | Others | Ministry of Agriculture | Ministry of Agriculture | 1999-01-01 | 2000-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Maria Alexi, Eleni Fountoulaki | | Contribution to the improvement of the competitiveness of the Greek Aquaculture, through an expansion of the knowledge about the diseases that appear in them, as well as the quality of the food used and the fish produced. | Completed |
| | CEPHVAR | 50000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | CEPHVAR: "Cephalopod Resources Dynamics, Environmental and Genetic Variation" | EU | EU FP4 | EU FP4 | 1998-01-01 | 2001-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Antonios Magoulas, Georgios Kotoulas, Maria Maidanou | | Cephalopod Resources Dynamics: Environmental and Genetic Variation:
To improve understanding of the variability in distribution,
abundance, and biological characteristics of economically important
cephalopod stocks of EU waters of the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean | Completed |
| | FAIR | 300000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | A New Bio-Index for the Assessment of Stress Condition in Cultured Marine Fish. | EU | EU FP4 | EU FP4 | 1998-01-01 | 2001-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The aim of the program is to develop a non-invasive, reliable and relatively simple methodology for locating the effects of stress on farmed fish. The objectives are the detection, analysis and quantitative assessment of the effects of stress in laboratory and commercial conditions, of two Mediterranean species: the sea bream (Sparus aurata) and the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), using parametric changes in the skin, gills and cutaneous mucus and the choice of detailed methods and stress parameters that will prove to be reliable and easy to use. | Completed |
| | Puntazzo | 50000 | Ioannis Nengas | Ioannis Nengas | Study of the nutritional factors affecting the growth and survival of Puntazzo puntazzo under culture conditions | Others | PENED | PENED | 1998-01-01 | 2000-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Eleni Fountoulaki, Maria Alexi | | The aim of this program is to determine the nutritional needs of essential nutrients of the snouthead sea bream and the formulation of practical diets that will ensure optimal growth while increasing its resistance to infectious diseases and parasites. | Completed |
| | Pylos | 50000 | Costas Dounas (retired) | Costas Dounas (retired) | Implementation of management plans for Pylos Lagoon and Evrotas Delta | Greece | LIFE | LIFE | 1998-01-01 | 2001-12-31 | | Ecology and ecosystem management | Christos Arvanitidis, Panayota (Yolanda) Koulouri, Apostolos Krystallas, Eleni Dafnomili, Snezana Zivanovic, Moshoula Livadara, Maria Maidanou | | At the Pylos site measures were undertaken to restore habitats and control tourist and visitor access along the sand dune system, as well as to prevent catastrophes in the event of oil spills in Navarino Bay. The project was to improve habitat quality by reducing disturbance and illegal hunting pressure. Populations of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) were to be conserved by protecting and managing nesting areas. The project worked for the benefit of waterfowl by restoring prime threatened habitat and preventing nesting failures caused by changing water levels. It also tried to alleviate the effects of cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) on fisheries and prevent negative public reaction towards fish-eating birds. At the Evrotas site the LIFE project was to protect and restore sand dunes from erosion and habitat destruction, and monitor agricultural activity in order to prevent any further reduction in the area and quality of waterfowl habitat through the expansion of cultivated land at the expense of wetland. It also tried to maintain the loggerhead turtle population and to bring about its long-term increase. | Completed |
| | RapidAnti | 28000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Development of a rapid, innovating and cheap method for Screening fish Products for residues of antibacterial substances. | EU | EU FP4 | EU FP4 | 1998-01-01 | 1999-31-12 | | Fish health | Ioannis Nengas, George Rigos, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The aim of the program is to develop a methodology for the detection of antimicrobials in farmed fish tissues. The criterion for such a method is its sensitivity to detect concentrations lower than the minimums set by international regulations, as detected by standard liquid chromatography measurements. | Completed |
| | ByProducts | 40000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Modern method of utilization of byproducts from fish processing | Others | PENED | PENED | 1997-01-01 | 1999-31-12 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Ioannis (Yannis) Kotzamanis | | The purpose of this project is to utilize the by-products of aquaculture fish as well as discarded catches as a source of protein and / or fatty acids of high nutritional value for farmed fish species in order to reduce the cost of farming, maximize environmental impact and excellent hygiene and quality of the fish produced. | Completed |
| | INCO | 200000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Quality monitoring and quality assurance of freshwater and seawater aquaculture fish. | Others | European Union International Cooperation (INCO) | European Union International Cooperation (INCO) | 1997-01-01 | 2000-12-31 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki, Kriton Grigorakis | | Study of the composition, physicochemical characteristics and taste, as well as the compounds that affect the taste of the flesh of farmed fish and their comparison with wild. | Completed |
| | Chemo | 23500 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Application of chemotherapeutics and bioavailability of oxolinic acid and oxytetracycline in culture of marine fish | Others | PENED | PENED | 1996-01-01 | 1998-31-12 | | Fish health | George Rigos, Ioannis Nengas, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The study of the losses of antibiotics used in aquaculture and the determination of their bioavailability in various tissues. | Completed |
| | EUROTHEM | 205430 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | European Topic Centre on the Marine and Coastal Environment | Others | European Environment Agency (EEA) | European Environment Agency (EEA) | 1996-01-01 | 2002-12-31 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | | | The objectives of this programme are: (a) the establishment of a Forum in order to facilitate the exchange and integration of existing data and information within the European Environment Agency (EEA) maritime area among regional intergovernmental organizations/conventions; (b) data management, validation, organization and dissemination; (c) identification of environmental indicators to assess major pressures and threats on the European coastal environment and (d) reporting on the state of the European and Pan-European regional seas. | Completed |
| | NEW TECHNIQUES | 29300 | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Efthimia (Efi) Cotou | Development and application of new methods for control pollution, protection and management of Amvrakikos gulf | Others | PENED | PENED | 1996-01-01 | 1999-31-12 | | Biomarkers and Bioassays | George Triantaphyllidis | | The aims of the project are: (a) to develop new methods that are based on biological responses of marine organisms in order to serve as immediate indicators of prediction, monitoring, and management of anthropogenic impacts in the marine coastal areas of Greece, (b) to estimate the ecological status of the Amvrakikos gulf (North-Western Greece) based on the development and biological processes of the marine organisms, (c) to predict great ecological changes on marine ecosystems impacting by broad anthropogenic activities. | Completed |
| | QualFeed | 123000 | Maria Alexi | Maria Alexi | Development of high quality fish feedς with low environmental impact | Others | PENED | PENED | 1996-01-01 | 1997-31-12 | | Fish nutrition and feeding | Ioannis Nengas, George Rigos, Eleni Fountoulaki | | The contribution to the development of know-how, related to the optimal combination of productive conditions of aquaculture activities and environmental factors in the particular conditions prevailing in the geographical area of the eastern Mediterranean. Also, the composition of fish feed using extruder technology, which have a high nutritional value and low environmental impact. | Completed |
| | AgroServ | 52000 | Manolis Mandalakis | Manolis Mandalakis | Integrated services supporting a sustainable agroecological transition | EU | EU HEurope | EU HEurope | | | | Bioinformatics and biodiversity informatics | | | The program aims to provide services and Transnational Access to interested scientists/groups/companies for the use of infrastructure and equipment related to agriculture research, including aquaculture and the exploitation of marine biological resources. EMBRC-ERIC participates in this program as a Strategic Partner, as it represents a pan-European network/platform for access to infrastructure/equipment related to marine biological research and marine ecosystems research. In this context, IMBBC participates in the AgroServ program as an affiliated member of EMBRC-ERIC and will offer access to the infrastructure/equipment of the IMBBC Bioanalysis and Biotechnology Laboratory. More specifically, the potential users/visitors of IMBBC-HCMR through the AgroServ program, will receive services regarding the processing and analysis of their environmental/biological samples with regard to specific chemical compounds/substances or bioactivities. | Completed |
